Employee recruiting systems and methods

ABSTRACT

Methods and systems for employment recruiting are provided. In one aspect, a remote call center is used to make initial contact with the candidates to obtain information regarding their placeability and urgency in changing jobs, and to provide an initial screening ( 107 ), and a local candidate specialist may then personally interview the candidate. In another aspect, compensation is set for recruiters by adjusting a base compensation based on individual and group performance. In another aspect, candidates are assigned to candidate specialists, and client employers are assigned to client specialists. In another aspect, job candidates and job openings are independently obtained so that candidates will be available immediately to fill the openings. In another aspect, in a team-oriented method of matching candidates with jobs, candidates are matched to jobs by corporation among candidate specialists and client specialists. In another aspect, candidates are matched with jobs using candidate and employer ratings.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to systems and methods for employeerecruiting. Recruiting firms or employment agencies generally recruitjob candidates for placement with employers with job openings. The stepsfor recruiting candidates are typically handled by recruiters who firstobtain available jobs and then obtain matching candidates for thosejobs, or in the reverse. Moreover, recruiters usually receive acommission as compensation, which is generally earned when recruiterssuccessfully place candidates in the available jobs or at somepredetermined time thereafter. This approach is problematic, since ithas the net effect of encouraging recruiters to hold on to jobcandidates that the recruiters obtain for their own placement, thushampering communication and sharing of information that could assist inplacing candidates in jobs. This approach may also create an usuallysignificant delay before an opening can be filled and tends to preventeffectively matching the best available candidates with the bestavailable jobs. Further, individual recruiters may not be effective inboth placing candidates and obtaining employer clients.

The methods of obtaining candidates, i.e., initially identifying andsigning candidates for recruiting, have typically been with eitherindirect or direct marketing techniques, where indirect marketing mayinclude placing advertisements in relevant periodicals, such asnewspapers and industry publications, and where direct marketing, alsoknow as headhunting, may include telemarketing or cold calling potentialcandidates in an attempt to persuade them to consider changingpositions. Direct marketing is typically used in specialty areas, suchas Information Technology (IT), where the demand for skilled laborexceeds the supply. Generally, telemarketing, i.e., cold calling, in theemployment recruiting industry is handled by recruiters who obtain forplacement job candidates and employers with respective job openings.Recruiters are also located within the areas they service for readyaccess to candidates and employers, thus, mailing telemarketing forrecruiting a local enterprise. Likewise, telem110arketing has beenhandled locally because many job candidates are leery of discussingpersonal matters, such as their desire for changing jobs, withrecruiters who may be located remotely or otherwise have no connectionto the candidate's community. This sensibility is particularly strong insome cultures and locations, such as in Japan. The local nature ofrecruiting and the reluctance to deal with remote telemarketers has alsoproven problematic in some locations where, for instance, there may be ashortage of skilled recruiters that are also skilled in telemarketing.

Accordingly, it would be desirable to provide employee recruitingsystems and methods that address the above disadvantages and otherissues.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

This invention provides methods and systems for employment recruiting.In one aspect, this invention provides a method of obtaining jobcandidates, which includes obtaining information in an initial screeningteleconference from respective potential job candidates. A telemarketeror telemarketers who are not also employment recruiters may preferablyconduct the initial screening teleconferences. Based at least partiallyon information obtained in respective initial screening teleconferences,potential job candidates may be selected for a follow-up personalinterview conducted by an individual that is not a telemarketer, such asan employment recruiter or a candidate specialist. Optionally,telemarketers may be located remotely from the potential job candidate,such as in another city, county, or country, and where telephone callsfrom potential job candidates may be forwarded to telemarketers at aremote location. Further, the information obtained as a result of theinitial teleconferences may include, historical information orrequirements of a potential job candidate, and whether the potential jobcandidate is interested in leaving a current job.

In another aspect, this invention provides a method and system formatching candidates with jobs, which includes storing candidateinformation obtained during an initial screening teleconference, such ashistorical information or requirements of a potential job candidate, andwhether the potential job candidate is interested in leaving a currentjob, and preferably a job candidate evaluation based at least on some ofthe information obtained during the initial screening teleconference, ona computer readable medium. The method further includes storing jobinformation of available jobs on a computer readable medium.

The candidates may then be assigned to employment recruiters orcandidate specialists based on at least the job candidate evaluation,where the employment recruiter may then access, with the aid of acomputer, candidate information and job information, and selectavailable jobs for consideration by candidates assigned to theparticular recruiter or candidate specialist.

In another aspect, this invention provides an employment recruitingorganization, which includes at least one facility having a staff whichincludes employment recruiters or candidate specialists local to the jobmarket, coupled by a telephone communication system having a callforwarding feature for forwarding calls to at least one remote facilityhaving a staff which includes telemarketers that are not recruiters orcandidate specialists. The local telecommunication system furtherproviding at least one local or toll telephone number, which potentialjob candidates may use to contact the appropriate individuals at eitherthe local or a remote facility. The remote facility may further providea call identification feature that indicates to potential job candidatesbeing called by individuals at the remote facility that the telephonecall originates from the local facility by causing to be displayed atelephone number of the local facility on the potential job candidatestelephone set having a caller identification feature.

In another aspect, this invention provides a method of settingcompensation for individuals of a group of such individuals, such asemployment recruiter, which provide employment services that includessetting a base compensation and a performance goal for a particularfunction or set of functions for each recruiter in the group ofrecruiters. The method further includes measuring an actual performanceof a particular recruiter, measuring an actual performance of the group,and determining an actual compensation for the particular recruiteraccording to the base compensation of the particular recruiter, theactual performance of the particular recruiter, and the actualperformance of the group. Optionally, the performance of the individualrecruiters and the performance of the group are measured over apredetermined period of time. Moreover, performance may be measured byrevenue derived from the individual and from the group, on the numbersof candidates placed by each recruiter, on how quickly job candidatesare placed, on compensation of jobs in which job candidate are place, onranking of individual employers at which job candidates are placed suchthat performance is higher when a candidate is placed at a higherranking employer, etc. The actual compensation may then be derived byfirst adjusting the base compensation according to the group'sperformance, then adjusting the group-adjusted base compensationaccording to the actual performance of the particular recruiter, or byfirst adjusting according to the individual performance, then adjustingthe individual-adjusted base compensation according to the performanceof the group. The method of setting compensation may be applied to set acompensation for each recruiter.

In another aspect, this invention provides a method of settingcompensation for individuals of a group of such individuals performing aservice that contributes to the overall service being performed, such asin employment recruiting, where the group may include recruiters,telemarketers, candidate specialists, client specialists, etc., andwhere the performance of the group and individuals may be measured byrevenue derived from the individual and from the group, on the numbersof candidates placed by each recruiter, client specialist or candidatespecialist, on how quickly job candidates are placed, on compensation ofjobs in which job candidate are place, on ranking of individualemployers at which job candidates are placed such that performance ishigher when a candidate is placed at a higher ranking employer, etc. Thebase compensation may also be the same for all individuals in the group,or may vary according to the position, responsibility, and/or experienceof members of the group.

In another aspect, this invention provides a system for use in settingcompensation for a group of recruiters or for a group of individualsperforming services resulting from a contribution of one or moreindividuals in the group, as described above, which includes a storagemedium for storing data that indicates a base compensation and aperformance goal for a particular function or set of functions for eachrecruiter in the group of recruiters, data that indicates an actualperformance of a particular recruiter or individual in the group, datathat indicates an actual performance of the group, and/or data thatindicates the performance goal of the group. The system further includesa processor adapted to access the storage medium and executeinstructions to determine an actual compensation for the particularrecruiter according to the base compensation of the particularrecruiter, the actual performance of the particular recruiter, and theactual performance of the group. The system may further include aninterface for inputting and displaying the data relevant to computingcompensation.

In another aspect, this invention provides a method for assigning jobcandidates to recruiters of a group of recruiters, which includesevaluating job candidates, evaluating recruiters in the group; andassigning the job candidates to a selected one of the recruitersaccording to a correspondence between the job candidate's evaluation andthe selected recruiter's evaluation. Optionally, job candidates may beevaluated on a scale that account for placeability, such as onexperience, education, time at current company, frequency of jobchanges, or level at current job, or rated on a degree of urgency tofind a new job. Further, recruiters may be evaluated based on theirrespective track records in job placement, an amount of revenue derivedfrom their services, how quickly they are able to place job candidates,etc. The candidates may be assigned in any one of a number of ways. Forinstance, higher rated candidates may be assigned to higher rankedrecruiters. Alternatively, candidates of a particular rating may becyclically assigned to recruiters, such that every recruiter of a groupof recruiters may get the opportunity to place highly rated candidates.Job candidates may also be assigned to recruiters that obtain thecandidates and to recruiters that locate unassigned candidates. Ineither case, the candidate assignment may be set to terminate and thecandidate may then be assigned to another one of the recruiters if therecruiter is unable to place the candidate within a given time period.Although described in the context of assigning candidates to recruiters,this method may also be applied to assign job candidates to candidatespecialists.

In another aspect, this invention provides a method for assigningemployers with jobs to client specialists of a group of clientspecialists, which includes evaluating employers, evaluating clientspecialists in the group; and assigning the employers to a selected oneof the client specialists according to a correspondence between theemployers' evaluation and the selected client specialist's evaluation.Optionally, employers may be evaluated on a scale that account for theamount of fees paid by employers to fill their respective jobs, theamount jobs associated with the particular employer out of a totalnumber of jobs of the pool of available jobs for a predetermined time,etc. Further, client specialists may be evaluated accounting for theirrespective track records in job placement, an amount of revenue derivedfrom their services, how quickly they are able to place job candidates,etc. The employers may be assigned in any one of a number of ways. Forinstance, higher rated employers may be assigned to higher ranked clientspecialists. Alternatively, employers of a particular rating may becyclically assigned to client specialists, such that every clientspecialist of a group of client specialist may get the opportunity towork with highly rated employers. Employers may also be assigned toclient specialists that obtain the employers. In either case, theemployer assignment may be set to terminate and the employer may then beassigned to another one of the client specialists if the clientspecialist is unable to place a job candidate with the employer assignedthereto within a given time period.

In another aspect, this invention provides a system for assigningcandidates to recruiters and/or assigning employers with clientspecialists, as described above, which includes a storage medium forstoring data indicative of evaluations of the job candidates and/oremployers, and data indicative of evaluations of the recruiters and/orclient specialists. The system further includes a processor adapted toaccess the storage medium and for executing instructions to assign thejob candidates to a respective selected one of the recruiters accordingto a correspondence between the job candidate's evaluation and theselected recruiter's evaluation, and/or to assign the jobs of each ofthe employers to the respective ones of the client specialists accordingto a correspondence between the employer's and client specialist'sevaluations.

In another aspect, this invention provides a method of employmentrecruiting, which includes obtaining a pool of job candidates andobtaining a pool of available jobs from associated employersindependently of each other. The pool of job candidate may be obtainedby telemarketers that are not candidate specialists or by candidatespecialists. Similarly, the pool of jobs may be obtained bytelemarketers that are not client specialists or by client specialiststhat are not candidate specialists. The job candidates may then bematched with the available jobs in accordance with criteria provided byjob candidates and employers. The criteria specified by candidates mayinclude a desired position, salary, location, and urgency for a newposition, and the criteria specified by employers may include a desirededucation, experience, time at current company, frequency of jobchanges, and level at the job candidates' current or previous job. Thematching may be performed by a candidate specialist to whom jobcandidates are assigned, or by client specialists to whom employers withrespective jobs are assigned. The matching process may further beaccomplished in a cooperative effort between candidate specialists andclient specialists.

In another aspect, this invention provides a system for use inemployment recruiting where the pool of available jobs from associatedemployers is obtained independently of the obtaining of the pool of jobcandidates, as described above, which includes a storage medium forstoring data identifying a pool of job candidates, data identifying apool of available jobs from associated employers, and/or data indicativeof predetermined criteria provided by job candidates and employers. Thesystem further includes a plurality of computer implemented interfacesfor input of the relevant data and the interfaces communicativelyconnected to the storage medium via at least one network. The systemalso includes a processor adapted to access the storage medium and forexecuting instructions to match the job candidates with the availablejobs in accordance with the predetermined criteria.

In another aspect, this invention provides a method for matching jobcandidates with available jobs, which includes matching job candidatesin a pool of job candidates to at least a particular one of availablejobs in a pool of available jobs from associated employers in acooperative effort between candidate specialists to which the jobcandidates are assigned The cooperative effort may include a candidatespecialist suggesting to another candidate specialist to which a jobcandidate is assigned, particular ones of the available jobs which arebelieved to be suitable for the job candidate assigned to the othercandidate specialist; or a plurality of candidate specialists of thegroup of candidate specialists to suggest to other candidate specialistsof the plurality of candidate specialists to which job candidates areassigned, particular ones of the available jobs which are believed to besuitable for particular ones of the job candidates.

In another aspect, this invention provides a method for matching jobcandidates with available jobs, which includes matching job candidatesin a pool of job candidates to at least a particular one of availablejobs in a pool of available jobs from associated employers in acooperative effort between client specialist to which the employers areassigned. The cooperative effort may include a client specialistsuggesting to another client specialist to which employers are assigned,particular ones of the available job candidates which are believed to besuitable for the respective available jobs of the employers assigned tothe other client specialist, or a plurality of client specialists of thegroup of client specialists to suggest to other client specialists ofthe plurality of client specialists to which employers are assigned,particular ones of the available job candidates which are believed to besuitable for particular ones of the jobs of the employers.

In another aspect, this invention provides a system for matching jobcandidates with available jobs, as described above, which includes astorage medium for storing data regarding a pool of job candidates and apool of available jobs from associated employers. The system furtherincludes respective computer-implemented interfaces for use byrespective candidate specialists to which the job candidates areassigned, and respective client specialists to which the employers areassigned. The system also includes a processor adapted to access thestorage medium and for executing instructions for use in matching atleast a particular one of the job candidates in a pool of job candidatesto at least a particular one of available jobs in a pool of availablejobs from associated employers in a cooperative effort between thecandidate specialists, the client specialists, and/or the candidatespecialists and the client specialists.

In another aspect, this invention provides a method of matching jobcandidates with available jobs, which includes assigning job candidatesof a pool of job candidates to a particular recruiter in a group ofrecruiters, evaluating the job candidate, evaluating employers withrespective available jobs, and matching to the job candidates to theavailable jobs according to a correspondence between the job candidate'sevaluation and the employer's evaluation. The job candidates may beevaluated on a scale that accounts for a degree of placeability, whichincludes at least one of experience, education, time at current company,frequency of job changes, and level at current job. The job candidatesmay also be evaluated on a scale that accounts for a degree in urgencyin finding a new job. The employers may be evaluated on a scale thataccounts for the amount of jobs associated with the particular employerout of a total number of jobs of the pool of available jobs, the amountof jobs associated with the particular employer out of a total number ofjobs of the pool of available jobs for a predetermined time, or on theamount of revenue provided thereby for a predetermined time.

In another aspect, this invention provides a system for matching jobcandidates with available jobs, as described above, which includes astorage medium for storing data obtained by evaluating the job candidateand by evaluating the employers with respective available jobs. Thesystem further includes a process adapted to access the storage mediumand to execute instructions to match job candidates to available jobsaccording to a correspondence between the job candidate's evaluation andthe employer's evaluation.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

In the figures, like-numbered elements or steps generally correspond toone another.

FIG. 1 illustrates a method of obtaining job candidates usingadvertising;

FIG. 2 illustrates a method of obtaining job candidates usingtelemarketing or cold calling;

FIG. 2 a is a flowchart of a data flow of job candidate data;

FIG. 3 illustrates a method for obtaining employers with job openings;

FIG. 3 a is a flowchart of a data flow of employer data;

FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram of a telecommunication system foremployment recruiting including a remote call center;

FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram of a data communication system foremployment recruiting including a remote call center;

FIG. 6 illustrates a method for computing recruiter compensation;

FIG. 7 a illustrates a method for assigning job candidates to candidatespecialists;

FIG. 7 b illustrates a method far assigning job candidates to clientspecialists;

FIG. 8 illustrates a method for employment recruiting where a job pooland a candidate pool are independently obtained;

FIG. 9 is a diagrammatic representation of the avenues of communicationfor matching candidates to jobs with a cooperative effort;

FIG. 10 illustrates a method for matching job candidates to recruitersbased on job candidate and employer ratings;

FIG. 11 is flowchart of an overall recruitment process;

FIG. 12 is a flowchart of an initial candidate interview process; and

FIG. 13 is a flowchart of candidates and job opening matching process.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

This invention provides methods and systems for employment recruiting.Generally, the employment recruiting process includes obtaining a poolof candidates for employment recruiting, obtaining a pool of jobs,assigning job candidates to employment recruiters and employers withjobs to client service specialists, matching the candidates withavailable jobs, closing the placement, and issuing commissions. Thecandidates may be obtained by telemarketers (e.g., phone operators),which may be located at call centers (CC) remote from an employmentfirm, in which case telephone calls from potential job candidatestargeted to a local employment recruiting firm are routed to the remoteCC. Telemarketers may also screen potential candidates for employmentrecruiters and may further maintain relations with job candidates thatare potentially placeable in the future. The screening may includeevaluating potential job candidates on their placeability, such as on aG1 to G5 scale. Placeable job candidates participate in follow-uppersonal interviews, referred to as initial candidate interviews (ICIs),which are conducted by employment recruiters, where the recruitersdetermine job candidates' placeability and the urgency of placing therespective job candidate. The ICI may also include evaluating candidateson their placeability, such as on a scale with P1 to P4 and UP(unplaceable) ratings, and on their urgency, such as on an A to C scale.Prospective employers, i.e., clients, and their respective jobs may alsoreceive an employer rating, such as on a T1 to T5 scale.

The jobs may be obtained by telemarketers that screen employers forfollow-up interviews with client service specialists or may be obtaineddirectly by client service specialists. Job candidates may be assignedto recruiters according to the quality of the job candidates andrecruiters. Similarly, employers may be assigned to client servicespecialists according to their respective quality as well. The matchingjob candidates with jobs may be carried out by applying a team approachand/or a cooperative effort, where employment recruiters and clientservices specialists share their relative knowledge of job candidatesand job offers to attain a successful match. The matching may furtherincorporate the placeability, the urgency, and the employer ratings asfactors in performing the proper match The recruiting process mayfurther be enhanced by incorporating the performance of the group ofemployment recruiters as a factor in commissions for individualrecruiters. For example, the individual recruiter's commission may beincreased or decreased according to the overall placements for therelevant time by the group of recruiters with respect to a predeterminedplacement goal.

I. Obtaining Candidates and Jobs for Employment Recruiting.

Referring to FIG. 1, a method of obtaining job candidates for employmentrecruiting may begin by attracting potential job candidates (101) foremployment recruiting. This can be accomplished in various ways, butgenerally includes the necessary marketing techniques for initiatingcommunications with potential job candidates, such as advertising (102),e.g., in periodicals such as newspapers or magazines, and web-basedmarketing (103), such as with an employment firm web page or viaInternet advertisements, e.g., pop up advertisements, banners, etc. Theadvertisements preferably provide potential job candidates with contactinformation, such as a toll-free number or a local telephone number ornumbers, which are assigned to an employment service center (ESC),described further below.

Based on the advertising and marketing, a potential job candidateinitiates a phone call (104) with the telephone number or numbersprovided, and telemarketers receive the call (105). The term“telemarketer” as used herein generally refers to a person whose primaryfunction is to conduct business by telephone. At the ESC, calls frompotential job candidates may be assigned to the available telemarketer(106). For, example, the next available telemarketer may take the call,or a call back may be directed to a specific telemarketer that initiateda cold call to the candidate. Optionally, the telemarketers may belocated at one or more call centers (CC) that are remote from the localESC. Remote generally denotes an area that a local ESC does not service.For instance, for an ESC that provides placement serves exclusively in aparticular city, such as in Tokyo, remote includes all areas not in theparticular city, such as in another city, county, prefecture or country.Additionally, for an ESC that provides national recruiting services,such as in Japan, remote includes those locations outside the country.Calls from the potential job candidates to telemarketers located at aremote CC may be received at the local ESC where they are switched tothe remote CC and forwarded to the proper telemarketer (106), asdiscussed further in connection with FIG. 4.

Note that it is often desirable for the candidates to believe they arespeaking to a local telemarketer or a recruiter or other person involvedin the recruiting process. For example, many people believe it isimpersonal to speak with someone who is located remotely when conductingpersonal business such as changing jobs. They prefer to deal withsomeone who they believe is part of the local community. The use oflocal numbers that are automatically routed to remote call centers canachieve this goal, while also allowing the call center to be located ina low cost area or other area where call center facilities and personnelare readily available. Moreover, phone calls from the telemarketers orother persons in the recruiting process who are located remotely fromthe candidates may be handled such that they appear to originatelocally, e.g., as could be detected by the candidate using a calleridentification device.

Once initial contact with job candidates is made, the telemarketers mayparticipate in initial screening teleconferences with the potential jobcandidates (107) to determine whether they are eligible for a follow-uppersonal interview to be conducted by individuals other than thetelemarketers. For example, the personal interviews may be conducted byrecruiters, namely client specialists, whose function is to interactwith the job candidates on a more personal level. To maintain highselection standards, it is desirable for the candidate to undergo one ormore personal interviews by the recruiter before he or she isrecommended for a personal interview with the employer.

The telemarketers may screen the candidates in numerous ways, e.g., byobtaining relevant historical and preference information from thecandidates. Based on the information obtained, the telemarketersdetermine whether the candidates are placeable (108), that is, whetherthere is a good likelihood the candidate can be placed in a job. Therelevant historic and preference information that is obtained may varyaccording to the particular industry and the position underconsideration as expressed by the job candidate. For example, relevantinformation in the Information Technology (IT) field may includehistoric information on the candidate's education, experience, time atcurrent company, frequency of job changes, level at current or previousjob, etc., and criteria such as the desired position, salary, location,urgency for a new position, etc. Note that the criteria expressed by acandidate may include requirements, such as the need to work in acertain location, as well as preferences, such as a salary above certainlevel. Moreover, in some cases, information relating to age, gender,martial status, appearance, etc., may be recorded when relevant.

Candidates that are found to be not placeable based on historic orcriteria information may be placeable in the future. For example, acandidate that is not placeable because he or she lacks the necessaryeducation or experience for a position may be placeable in the futurewhen he or she completes the requisite training or acquires thenecessary experience. Information necessary to facilitate a follow upwith a candidate determined to be possibly placeable in the future (113)may be stored (114) in a candidate relations database, and reminders maybe set (115) for a follow up call to such candidates. At the appropriatefuture date, the telemarketers are prompted to follow up (116) with thepotential job candidates. The telemarketers may be prompted to makethese follow up contacts in many ways, such as with automatic pop-upmessages on a computerized user interface (see FIG. 5) that are directedat an appropriate telemarketer, or with list or lists of potential jobcandidates to be followed up upon, which are compiled automatically, orthe candidate may request a follow up call at a certain date. Thereminder can be directed to an appropriate telemarketer, such as thetelemarketer that made the initial contact with the candidate. If thisis not possible, the reminder can be directed to the next availabletelemarketer. When following up on the candidates (117), thetelemarketers may again screen the potential job candidates (107) todetermine whether a follow up personal interview is desirable, asdescribed above. This new screening should note any new or changedinformation about the candidate, such as promotions, new skills, and soforth. Records of potential job candidates that are found to be notplaceable currently or in the future may be voided/erased (118).Alternatively, such records can be maintained to avoid unnecessaryfuture contacts.

Job candidates that are found to be placeable (108) may also beevaluated by rating them on their relative placeability (109). The jobcandidates may be rated by the telemarketers as part of the initialscreening teleconference or by others reviewing records of the initialscreening teleconferences. For example, the recruiters may rate thecandidates based on the information obtained by the telemarketers. Therating should incorporate at least some of the information obtainedduring the initial screening teleconferences, such as the potential jobcandidates' historical information and requirements or preferencescriteria The experience and education may indicate the candidate'sdegree of proficiency with various software programs, programminglanguages, network hardware, etc. The rating scale may be expressed in aset of alphabetic or numeric characters, or a combination of both. Forexample, the potential job candidate rating may be expressed in the formof a G1 to G5 scale, where G1 is the highest rank. For example, a highlyskilled candidate might have a G1 rating, while a moderately skilledcandidate might have a G3 rating, and a relatively unskilled candidatemight have a G5 rating.

Finally, records of the initial screening teleconferences with theplaceable potential job candidates may be stored (110) in a jobcandidate database for further attention, such as for follow-up personalinterviews. For example, recruiters may access the database from alocation remote from the telemarketers using a computer network (seeFIG. 5) to schedule the candidates for interviews. Such interviews areheld between the candidate and the recruiter, typically at a recruiter'soffice, which is local to the candidate. The recruiters may initiatephone calls to the candidates directly for this and other purposes. Therecords may contain information such as the job candidate'sidentification, historic information, requirements and preferencescriteria, and placeability rating. Information relating to a particularcandidate's availability for a personal interview (e.g., days and times)may also be recorded.

Referring to FIG. 2, the method of obtaining candidates usingtelemarketing or cold calling includes attracting potential jobcandidates (101′) by having the telemarketers initiate contact with thepotential job candidates through cold calling routines. Cold callinggenerally refers to calling a candidate when he or she is not expectingsuch a call. Names and phone numbers of potential job candidates may bederived in various ways. In one approach, a company is identified whichis likely to have job candidates of interest. An automatic dialer, ormanual dialing, is used to dial the main telephone number of the companyas well as different extensions in the company. For example, if the mainnumber if 212-555-2000, different extensions such as 2001, 2002 and soforth can be dialed. The name of the employee may then be learned from avoicemail greeting, if available, at each extension. This dialing may bedone at night when no one is expected to answer the calls. A company'sweb site may also be searched to obtain an employer roster, etc.Similarly, a list of graduates of specific training schools may beobtained from the schools or other sources, such as a student directory.Employees in fields that require a license or registration may also belocated by searching public records of such licensees or registrants.Members of trade groups, or subscribers to trade periodicals, may alsobe located. The list of potential job candidates for cold calling may bestored in a cold call database. The list or lists of potential jobcandidates may also be derived from prompts to follow up with potentialjob candidates determined to be possibly placeable in the future, asdescribed above.

Cold call routines generally include the steps necessary fortelemarketers to initiate initial contact with potential job candidates.For instance, a telemarketer may cold call a potential job candidate(201) to determine if he or she is interested in changing jobs. Ifcontact with intended potential job candidates is not made (202), he orshe is prompted for a return call (203), e.g., by leaving a message forthe candidate that provides a toll-free or local telephone number. Whenthe candidate places a return call (104), it is received (105), e.g., atthe ESC, and forwarded (106) to the appropriate telemarketer located atthe ESC or at a remote call center (CC).

Once contact with a potential job candidate is achieved, whether as aresult of the telemarketer's initial call (202) or candidate's returncall (203), the telemarketer may participate in an initial screeningteleconference (107) with the potential job candidate as discussedpreviously. Screening may be performed in numerous ways and shouldinclude obtaining relevant historic information and requirements andpreferences criteria, determining whether the candidate is placeable(108), and determining whether, and to what extent, the candidate isinterested in being recruited (204), e.g., leaving their currentposition.

Job candidates that are determined to be unplaceable or not interestedmay be placeable and/or interested in the future (113). For example,candidates that are not interested in being recruiting when contactedbecause of obligations to their current employer or perhaps a plannedevent that precludes changing positions at the time, may indicate awillingness to be recruited in the future. Moreover, candidates may becontract employees that are obligated to work for their current employeruntil a specific date. Information regarding job candidates that may beinterested in future placement may also be stored in a candidaterelations database (114), and reminders may be set (115) for follow upcalls to the candidates. Job candidates that are found to be placeableand interested may be rated on their respective placeability (109), anda record of the initial screening teleconference may be stored (110) ina candidate database for subsequent use.

FIG. 2 a is a flowchart of a data flow of job candidate data.

Regarding the “Raw Data” box, data in raw format from various sources,such as from recruiters, clients, candidates, and designated researchpeople, flows into the system. All data is labeled for tracking purposeswith tags such as the creation date and the creator's name.Telemarketers or recruiters cannot view the raw data until the data ispre-screened and associated with specific data collections or databases,such as with the candidate database, or allocated to eithertelemarketers or recruiters for follow up.

The telemarketing data flow is now discussed. Regarding the “ColdCalling/Follow Up” box, telemarketers are generally responsible forconducting initial screening teleconferences and setting up meetingsbetween quality candidates and recruiters for follow-up personalinterviews. Telemarketers are given an initial number of potential jobcandidate records for telemarketing routines, i.e., cold calling, andare allocated a set amount of records that they can independentlyretrieve and claim for themselves from the respective databases, such asthe candidate relations database or the cold call database, for coldcalling for a particular day. This number may be set to, e.g., twenty,but can be administered by management on a case-by-case basis.Telemarketers are unable to retrieve potential candidate records forthose potential candidates that have already been interviewed, arealready allocated to someone, or whose records are designated or rawdata

Regarding the “Continued Action” box, the assignment of records that arenot acted on by telemarketers that the records are assigned to within apredetermined time period, such as two months, may expire and therecords may then be either reassigned to another telemarketer or in theinterim be made available for other telemarketers to claim.

Regarding the “Qualification” box, eventual qualifying the candidatewill result in one of the following:

a) Transfer of the candidate record to another appropriate database,i.e., from the cold call database to the candidate relations database,from the cold call database to the candidate database, etc.

b) Date and time is set for future follow up and qualification, and mayinclude the transfer of the candidate to another telemarketer.

Regarding the “Arrange Meeting” box,

A meeting is arranged for candidates that have been qualified and thecandidate records are transferred to the appropriate database forassignment to respective recruiters/candidate specialists.

Regarding the “ICI Distribution by Grade” box, the record is thenassigned to a recruiter with a corresponding staff grade. Should themeeting be cancelled or rescheduled, the candidate record may betransferred back to the same telemarketer for follow up. Once the recordis transferred to the recruiter, the job candidate is the responsibilityof the recruiter to whom the respective record is assigned.Telemarketing sales person can track all progress for any candidate theyhave successfully arranged a meeting through various reports.

The recruiter data flow is now discussed. Regarding the “ColdCalling/Follow Up” box, recruiters, like telemarketers, work with aninitial number of records/job candidates they are assigned.

Regarding the “Continued Action?” decision box, records assigned torecruiters must be acted on within a given period, such as seven days,else the assignment may be set to expire. Continued calling or actionwill prevent the assignment from expiring and being redistributed toother recruiters. Additionally, records that have seen continued actionmay also be set to expire, e.g., two months, after their next actiondate. For example, if a record is called but the person is away onbusiness and so the next action is to call back on his return in onemonth on March 15, then the expiration date would be two months afterthat action item, or May 15. Further, future action can be limited tobeing set a maximum of, e.g., three months in advance, which makes allrecords have expiration dates within the next five months. Hence, in theabove example, the next action date at most could be around May 15,which would make the expiration date then around July 15.

The two exceptions to the above expiration rules are:

1) Based on the recruiter's grade/ranking, they are allocated a numberof exemptions, ranging from 0-1,000. Any record marked as exempt willnot expire.

2) Once a candidate has been placed or is still in process with aclient, the assignment will not expire.

All records set to expire will do so at the end of the day on theexpiration date. They will be automatically designated as unassigned andmay be reassigned accordingly or accessible to other recruiters formatching.

Regarding the “Qualification” box, with continued follow up by therecruiter, records may be transferred to any appropriate database or toanother recruiter. Recruiters assigned particular records may qualifyjob candidates and once qualified, a meeting date and time may be set.If the meeting is cancelled or rescheduled, then the recruiter isrequired to follow up and re-qualify.

Regarding the “Candidate Meeting and Rating” box, after beinginterviewed candidates are given a rating (P-Rating). An unplaceablecandidate's record is transferred automatically to the correspondingdatabase, i.e., client relations database, etc.

Regarding the “Ready to Move?” decision box, the records of placeablecandidates that are not ready to change their jobs when contacted may betransferred to the candidate relations database for follow up bycandidate relations staff. When these candidates are ready to look atnew opportunities, their record may be transferred back to therespective recruiter.

Regarding the “Introduce Jobs” box, placeable candidates ready to changetheir job are presented matching jobs and if interested are introducedto the employers.

The databases are now discussed. The following are the descriptions ofthe data variables that may be associated with particular job candidaterecords and that may be used to trigger or cause records to betransferred from a main database, i.e., the cold calling database, toanother more appropriate database, e.g., candidate relation, etc., ormay be used to trigger action by the appropriate responsible party orparties.

Open: New data that has not yet been called, called data that has notbeen successful, and candidates that recruiters no longer wish to workwith.

Open-No English: As above but the candidate has limited or no Englishlanguage skills.

SMP: Senior Management Practice. These are senior candidatesspecifically for executive search and will be followed up and acted onby the SMP Group.

Just Joined/Too Young: Candidates who have recently graduated so theyare difficult to place as clients are unwilling to pay fees for younginexperienced staff. Also, candidates who have recently started at acompany are not easily or shouldn't be placed as it is detrimental totheir career to change employers quickly and/or regularly.

Client: Currently a client of the recruiting organization, which shouldnot canvass or poach candidates from its clients or vendors.

Not interested: Candidate is not interested in changing their job orreceiving new company information.

Unplaceable: Based on our client's specifications and the recruitingorganization's own quality criteria, these are candidates that we willbe unable to assist in their career search.

Research: The record contains no contact or old contact information sois in a pool for research staff to search out possible contact numbersto try and locate the candidates.

Void: Similar to “research”, in that the person or information is nolonger valid and all other possible leads already sourced from therecord. The record itself would seem to have no inherent value andsending to research would most likely redeem no results.

Candidate Relations: A pool of met, placeable candidates who are notready to move yet because of job commitments or personal reasons.Contact by a candidate relations team member will ensure that when theyare ready to move we will know and the record will be transferred backto the recruiter who met with them or as appropriate.

Raw Data:

New data inputted by research or acquired through candidate or clientreferrals. This is an initial pool to be able to enter the data into thesystem but be restricted from the view of all recruiters andtelemarketing staff until ready.

B/W-Pool, Out-of-Tokyo: These are open pre-screened records ofcandidates/companies which are difficult to contact or likely to bedifficult to find jobs for. For example they reside well out of the cityarea, are overseas or work in a completely different industry.

In a further aspect of the invention, throughout the lifecycle of therecords, statistics are automatically created based on the action takenand results accomplished. In one approach, only one statistic is allowedfor each type of action for each record. Regarding the “Arrange Meeting”box under “Recruiter/Candidate Specialists” in FIG. 2 a, initial callingstatistics created by consultants and telemarketing staff are:

1) CCP Statistic (Cold Call Presentation)—The date, candidate andcallers details are stored when the candidate is informed of therecruiting organization and asked to come in for a meeting.

2) ICI Statistic (Initial Candidate Interface)—Again, the date,candidate and callers details are stored if a meeting date and time isset with the candidate.

Regarding the “Introduce Jobs” box, at every stage of the process with aclient as the status changes, a statistic is created to store the type,candidate, recruiter and, if necessary, the Client Services andTelemarketer caller details associated with the candidate. For example,if the ICI was arranged by a telemarketer and the job suggestion camefrom a client services representative then all of these details would betagged to each of the statistics created for the candidate with thisclient.

Client Status and Statistics May Include:

Action—An initial entry choice for a recruiter to remind them to actiona candidate to a client. These entries also include all items fromclient services staff for possible job matches to their candidates aswell as any item that had been labeled an automated action item (seeResume).

Resume—As soon as the resume is sent to the client for review thecandidate's status is updated and this statistic is created. For anyresume sent to a client that exceeds, e.g., twenty-one days the statuswill be automatically changed to an “Action” item that cannot be placedin “Resume” sent status again. This candidate for this client musteither become an “Introduction” meeting or be “Process Terminated”.

Introduction—Created when the first meeting between the candidate andclient is confirmed.

2nd Meeting through 5th+ Meeting—Created when the 2nd, 3rd, 4th and 5th+meetings between the candidate and client are confirmed.

Verbal Offer—Verbal acknowledgment to the candidate from the companythat they would like to extend them an offer to join. This may or maynot actually occur.

Paper Offer—An actual physical paper offer is received by the candidateto join the company.

Signed/Resignation—The candidate signs the paper offer and is now in aresignation process with their current employer.

Started: Not Paid—The candidate has successfully resigned from theirprevious employer and joined the new client company, although we haveyet to receive any payment for services rendered. At this stage orsometimes earlier the invoice is prepared and sent to

Started: RO Paid—The candidate is still with the client company and therecruiting organization (RO) has been paid for all services.

Started: C Paid

The final step is that the recruiter/candidate specialist (C) is paidfor placing the candidate with the client.

Process Terminated—For either reasons given by the client or candidate,the interview process is terminated.

In a further aspect of the invention, data generated from all thestatistics and client status entries enables a number of reports to beproduced both on the candidate and client side. Totals and percentagescan be displayed for all reports as required on either a weekly oryearly totals basis. This can be achieved for individuals, for a team,the entire company, a client, a group of companies or all companies. Thereports may include the following.

Recruiter Reports:

-   -   Individual Status Report—A status report is automatically        generated for each candidate and company introduced to. This        report includes all records from “Action” through to “Started:        Not Paid”. Records with a status of “Started: Me Paid” or        “Process Terminated” are automatically omitted from this report.        As all statistics are stored, for each section of the status        report detailed numbers can be included for each entry, e.g.,        the number of days since the resume was sent and the number of        days the entry has been at that particular status. For example        an entry in 3rd Meeting for a candidate may have had the resume        sent thirty days ago and has been at the 3rd Meeting stage for        five days.    -   Individual Statistics Report—A statistics report shows the        totals of each of the statistics for the current week, for        example, the total number of CCP's, ICI's, Resumes,        Introductions, Offers and Placements. A percentage is also        displayed for the ratio of Resumes to Introductions. These        reports can also be produced for any team or for the company as        a whole. Additionally the report can be for a Telesales caller,        all callers, a client services specialist or specialists.

Client Reports:

As recruiters are creating status entries and statistics for clientsbased on their candidate actions, reports can be also produced for theclient side.

-   -   Client Status Report—The same format as any other status report        but is specific to the client and includes all related recruiter        entries.    -   Client Statistics Report—Again the same format as any other        statistic report but is specific to the client and includes all        statistics from all recruiters for any time period.

Statistical Conversions:

Finally, conversion rates and times can be calculated based on anycriteria as each statistic is individually stored and dated. Examplesinclude: Time line for a candidate between each step: days from resumeto intro, days from intro to offer, days from ICI to placement, etc.Another example: Time line for a recruiter or group or all recruitersfor any statistic or client between each step. Another example:Conversion percentages for any individual, group or client for anystatistic: % of resumes to introductions, % of 1st to 2nd Meeting, % ofOffer to Placements, % of ICI to Placement, etc.

Referring to FIG. 3, a method of obtaining employers with job openingsmay begin by attracting employers with jobs (300), e.g., using thenecessary marketing technique for initiating communications with theemployers, such as by advertising or by telemarketing techniques,similar to the approaches used for obtaining the job candidates. Atelemarketer may initiate contact with an employer, and participate inan initial screening teleconference. If the employer is sufficientlyinterested, and the telemarketer believes it is appropriate, a follow upmeeting (e.g., via phone or personally) may be scheduled between theemployer and a person such as a client specialist. The client specialistis primarily concerned with interacting with client employers todetermine their employment needs and ensure they receive good service.The client specialist is generally not a telemarketer, and can also bedistinguished from a candidate specialist, who is primarily concernedwith interacting with and servicing job candidates. Moreover, note thata recruiting process may occur where the job candidates are clientssince they pay a fee to be matched with a job. In this case, adistinction may be made between a candidate client specialist and anemployer client specialist. Moreover, the term “recruiter” may encompassboth the candidate specialist and the client specialist(s).

The screening performed by the telemarketer may include determiningwhether the employer possesses available job openings (305), and if so,how many and what type, and whether the employer is interested inlisting their job openings (310) with the recruiting/employment firm. Ifthe employer possesses available jobs and is interested, an employermeeting may be arranged between the employer and the client specialistto gather the relevant information for the particular jobs (315) andsign the employer to a contract that specifies the fees to be paid. Thisinformation may also be obtained by the telemarketer. Relevantinformation may vary according to the particular industry and theposition being listed, and may include historical information, andrequirements and preferences criteria The criteria for a job opening mayinclude both required elements that the candidate must meet, andpreferred elements that the candidate preferably meets. These criteriamay be complements of the requirements and preferences criteriaexpressed by the candidates.

The employer may be evaluated/rated (320) on its overall value to therecruiting firm based on factors such as the potential revenue that maybe derived from the particular employer, the quantity of jobs listedwith the firm in the past, and current listings in relation to the totaljobs listed with the firm over a desired time frame, e.g., past sixmonths, etc. The rating or tier may be expressed in a set of alphabeticor numeric characters, or a combination of both, e.g., in the form of aT1 to T5 scale, where T1 is a greater rank than T2, T2 is greater thanT3, etc. See the related discussion on the T scale further below.

Records of the jobs may be stored in a job-opening database (325). Theinformation stored in the records may include the employers'requirements and preferences criteria for the particular job opening,the employers' rating, and so forth

FIG. 3 a is a flowchart of a data flow of employer data.

Regarding the “evaluate” box, records, i.e., information, on companiesand their respective job openings are preferably all stored in singledatabase with data fields or variables that indicate their status. Thestatus may then be used for providing or limiting access to theparticular employer records. This makes it very effective in changingthe access properties of company records seamlessly and instantly bysimply altering a few fields rather than having to manually move them toseparate files. This would simplify changes because for example aclient/employer has been purchased or merged with a competitor and isthus no longer be a client. In this instance, the status may be changedto ex-client or target, and this would prevent recruiters from viewingany job openings and perhaps accidentally calling or sending a candidateresume. A client services department or staff may maintain allinformation regarding companies whether they are clients, ex-clients,targets or are under development. Once a client is signed, recruitersgenerally have access to view records associated with a particularclient and may introduce candidates to the clients either directly orthrough the client services group.

Regarding the “Job Matches” box, in addition to candidate specialistsmatching candidates to job openings this is also a major function ofclient specialists. They have the ability to search all candidateinformation and resumes and automatically notify candidate specialistsof a match with their candidate to a specific job opening. Thesuggestions need to be followed up by the client specialists thatsuggested the match. If the candidate specialist takes no action on thesuggestion in, e.g., twenty-one days, however, then the suggestion isremoved.

Regarding the “Restrict Information?” box, client services has theability to restrict access to particular information in the clientrecords, such as a list of contact names with the client, the jobopenings listed for a particular client, or both. Once restricted, onlyspecific personnel, such as Team Leaders, can freely view theinformation.

Regarding the “Evaluate Status and Evaluate Tier Rating” boxes, whethermaking placements in the client or not, all companies are regularlyevaluated and their status altered accordingly. Each client record hasavailable scans of maps, contracts, and offer letters. Each alsocontains as much company information as possible, such as HQ PDF files,company history, products, partners, corporate culture, staff numbers,revenue figures, client services comments, candidate specialist commentsand other related information such as each contact person's profile,where possible. Candidate specialists may also have access to resumes ofall candidates placed with a particular client in order to becomefamiliar with a typical candidate profile for the client.

Employment Recruiting Telecommunication System Description

Referring to FIG. 4, an embodiment of a telecommunications system foruse in employment recruiting is shown. Here, telephone calls that areplaced by a candidate to a local phone number may be forwarded to aremote call center so that the candidate is unaware that he is speakingwith a remotely located person. In one possible embodiment, the systemincludes a local employment service center (ESC) facility (403) and aremote CC private branch exchange (PBX) facility (404), each with anoptional voice over IP (VOIP) module (406), and a plurality of telephoneterminals (407). The PBX may use a manual switchboard, or may include aprivate automatic branch exchange (PABX), which may or may not use aswitchboard. The ESC 403 may be an office where the client specialistsand candidate specialists work and conduct interviews and meetings withcandidates and employers. The components at each location may beconsidered part of a telecommunications apparatus.

Also, a communications network, such as a public switched telephonenetwork (PSTN), a wide area network (WAN), or a local area network(LAN), or a combination thereof, may be used. In a preferred embodiment,the communication network includes a telephone communication system suchas a public switched telephone network (PSTN) (402), and an employmentrecruiting communications network or intranet (410), such as virtualprivate network (VPN), WAN, or LAN, which is private to the recruitingorganization. The network 410 may also be considered part of a telephonecommunication system, e.g., when used with VOIP. Alternatively, oradditionally, the employment recruiting communications network 410 maybe implemented using the PSTN 302. The system may also include at leastone automatic call distributor (ACD) (not shown) located at either thelocal BSC, a remote CC, or both, for distributing calls to individuals(e.g., telemarketers, candidate specialists, and client specialists) attheir respective locations. Appropriate media for carrying signalsbetween the centers 403 and 404 may be used, such as copper wire,optical fiber, and/or wireless communications equipment.

The telecommunication system generally enables callers to dial into andout of a local ESC and at least one remote CC. The anticipated phonetraffic includes incoming calls originating from outside parties (e.g.,job candidates and employers) to individuals at the ESC or at the remoteCC, outgoing calls between individuals at the ESC and a remote CC, andoutgoing calls originating from individuals at either the ESC or aremote CC to outside parties. An incoming call originating from anoutside party may initially be switched at the PSTN (402) to arrive atthe ESC (403), where the call may be directed to the appropriate partyaccording to the telephone number dialed. For example, if the numberdialed is assigned to an individual at the ESC, the ESC PBX (408) mayforward the incoming call to the telephone terminal (407) of the desiredparty at the ESC. If, however, the number dialed is assigned to theremote CC or individuals at the remote CC (404), the ESC PBX (408)routes the outside party's incoming call to a remote CC PBX (405),preferably through a VPN, where the call is finally forwarded to thetelephone terminal (407) of the desired party at the remote CC.

Outgoing calls from individuals at the ESC (403) to individuals at aremote CC (404) are routed at the ESC PBX (408), through the PSIN (402),preferably through a VPN, to a remote CC PBX (405), where the call isforwarded to the telephone terminal (407) of the desired party at theremote CC. Calls originating from individuals at a remote CC (404) toparties at the ESC (403) are handled in the reverse order. Optionally,calls between individuals at a remote CC and the ESC may be handled byVOIP. Outgoing calls from parties located at either the ESC (403) or aremote CC (404) may be routed at the ESC PBX (403) and a remote CC PBX(404), respectively, though the PSTN (402), to the desired outsideparty.

The system may be advantageously configured such that the job candidatesbelieve they are speaking locally with the telemarketer or a recruiteror other person involved in the recruiting process. In particular, whena telemarketer at the remote call center 404 wishes to call the jobcandidate 401, a call is first made to the local ESC 403, where anoperator transfers the call to the candidates phone number. In thismanner, the caller identification information received by the candidatedesignates the phone number and/or name of the local ESC 403 instead ofthe remote CC 404. A caller identification feature offered by a PSTN maybe used, for instance, as discussed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,582,956.

Referring to FIG. 5, an embodiment of a data communications system foruse in employment recruiting may include a number of interfaces, such aspersonal computer workstations, including at least one telemarketerinterface (501), at least one employment recruiter interface (504),which may include, e.g., a candidate specialist or a client specialistinterface, at least one candidate interface (505), and at least oneserver (507), where the interfaces and server are interconnected over acommunications network (512). The communications network may be, but isnot limited to a WAN, a LAN, the Internet, or a combination thereof.Optionally, the data communication system may use a number of servers,such as a database server (507), an Intranet server (502) and anInternet server or servers (503). Optionally, a remote CC may maintain aseparate intranet server (506). The database server may further comprisea processor such as a CPU, data storage means (computer-readable media)such as a hard drive, optical drive, disk drive, tape drive, or acombination thereof, and at least a candidate database (508) and a jobdatabase (510). Preferably, the database server may also contain acandidate relations database (508) and a cold call database (511). Thesedatabases are used generally for storing the information regarding thejob candidates, clients/employers and jobs. The databases may also storeinformation regarding recruiter compensation, group and individualperformance goals and actual performance, etc. Database managementsoftware may be used to manage the data, The databases are formed byorganizing the storage of data on the computer-readable media

Moreover, the computer workstations may use software for carrying outdesired functions. For example, software may be used for runningapplications that assist in the recruiting process by providing pop-upscreen, scripts and other tools for tracking and managing data relatedto the candidates, employers, and job openings. The software comprisesinstructions that are executed by the processor of a computerworkstation or server to carry out one or more applications. Theapplications may provide an on-screen graphical user interface, voicecommand user interface, etc., to assist the users in their tasks. Forexample, when a call is received from a candidate at the telemarketerinterface (501) or recruiter interface (504), software may be used thatrecognizes the caller via the phone number, and accesses informationpertaining to the candidate's record for immediate display on-screen.

The telemarketer interfaces (501) provide a means for telemarketers toenter and access information located in the cold call database (511),candidate relations database (509), and candidate database (508), andmay also provide access to email the intranet or intranets, and theInternet. Similarly, the employment recruiters may use the employmentrecruiter interface (504) to access the candidate database (508),candidate relations database (509), job opening databases (510),employer database (520), which includes information regarding theemployers, as well as email, the intranet or intranets, and theInternet.

The candidate interface (505) may be any device or system that allow acandidate to retrieve information regarding recruiting services, and tocommunicate with personnel in the recruiting organization, such as apersonal computer with Internet access, cell phone, includingweb-enabled cell phones, personal digital assistant (PDA), or any othersuitable communication means. Note that an Interactive Voice Response(“IVR”) system (not shown) may also be used to enable the candidate toretrieve information and/or communicate with the telemarketers orrecruiters. For example, the candidate may be able to confirm the time,date and location of an upcoming interview using an IVR system.

It should be understood to those skilled in the art that the systemsdepicted in FIG. 4 and FIG. 5 are two examples of many possible systemarrangements that may be employed to carry out the invention and thusthe systems depicted shall be viewed as merely illustrative.

II. Computing Compensation for Recruiters and Telemarketers

Referring to FIG. 6, a process is shown for computing compensation, suchas a commission or a bonus, for an individual of a group performingsubstantially the same function or functions, such as employmentrecruiters.

Generally, the recruiting organization receives fees from the employersby obtaining candidates for their job openings. The details regardingthe compensation/commission the employers will pay to the recruitingorganization can be set in various ways. For example, the employers maypay a portion of a hired candidate's year's salary to the recruitingorganization for each job that is filled. The payment may be conditionedon the employee successfully completing a trial period, such as threemonths. The employer may pay based on the number of jobs filled, and/orthe level of the jobs that are filled. The employer may also pay a flatmonthly or other periodic fee, where the recruiting organization fillsas many jobs as it can each month for the employer. In some cases, thecandidate may pay a fee to be matched with a job opening.

However, once the organization receives the fees, it is important tocompensate the personnel of the organization. The compensation shouldaward the particular individual who is primarily responsible for placinga candidate, while also encouraging teamwork and sharing of informationwithin the recruiting organization. Moreover, these goals are alsoachieved when candidate specialists, who work primarily with jobcandidates, and client specialists, who work primarily with employers,are used.

The process may begin by setting a base individual compensation (601)for a relevant time period, e.g., a month, quarter, or year. Thiscompensation may be arbitrarily set or derived from statistical data,such as the recruiting organization's estimated or actual revenue forthe predetermined time. Group and/or individual goals may also be set(602)(603). The group may include only personnel who are performing acommon function or functions, or personnel who perform differentfunctions. For example, the group may include only candidatespecialists, or only client specialists, or both types of specialistsmay be included. The goals may be described in terms of revenue or basedon some other relevant measure, e.g., in employment recruiting context,relevant units may be the number of candidates placed for the particulartime period, how quickly the candidates were placed, and even theparticular employer at which they were placed. In this way, placementsto certain preferred employers can be rewarded more highly. The goalsmay be arbitrarily set or based on past performance data of the group orof the individual, e.g., the group's or individual's revenue for aparticular quarter. The individual goal may be equal for allindividuals, or set to reflect the characteristics of certainindividual, e.g., goals for relatively inexperienced individuals may beset lower than for others to reflect the inexperience. Similarly, theindividual goal may be equal for a subset of the individuals of thegroup, e.g., based on experience. For example, all senior candidatespecialists may have the same goal, and all junior candidate specialistsmay have the same goal.

The actual performance of the group (604) and of the individuals (605)is determined, and the compensation for an individual is derived byadjusting the base individual compensation to reflect the group's actualperformance (606) and to reflect the individual's actual performance(607) for the relevant period. The individual compensation may be set toobtain a desired response from the individual or group. For instance,compensation may be set to promote superior group and individualperformance by adjusting the base individual compensation upwards inproportion to the degree of superior performance by the group and byindividual employees. Similarly, inferior performance can be deterred byadjusting the base individual compensation downwards to account forinferior performance by the group and/or the individual employee.

For example, assume a base individual compensation of $10,000, a grouprevenue goal of $100,000 and an individual revenue goal of $20,000.Additionally, assume the group totaled $125,000 in actual revenue and anindividual totaled $30,000, that is, the group has exceeded its goal by25% and the individual by 50%. The company may reward the group's andthe individual's superior performance by adjusting the individual's.basic compensation of $10,000 up by 25% based on the group's actualperformance, then adjusting the result thereof upwards by 50% for theindividual's own performance. Thus, this individual's compensation is((10,000+25%)+50%)=$12,500+50%=$18,750. Alternatively, the adjustmentsmay be applied separately to the individual's basic compensation (i.e.,10,000+2,500+5,000=$17,500).

The individual's compensation may also be reduced proportionately ifeither the group and/or the individual's perform below their respectivegoals. Assuming, in the example above, the individual's performance forthe quarter yielded $10,000, that individual's compensation is((10,000+25%)−50%)=$6,250. Similarly, if the group's placements for thequarter yielded $75,000, the individual's compensation is($10,000−25%)+50%=$11,250.

Moreover, the compensation may be adjusted on factors other than revenueearned. For example, for individuals providing employment recruitingservices, the actual performance of the particular individual and/orgroup may be, measured based on a number of job candidates placed injobs, how quickly job candidates are placed and/or the compensation ofjobs in which the job candidates are placed. In a further variation, theactual performance of the particular individual is measured based on aranking of employers at which the job candidates are placed such thatperformance is determined to be higher when a candidate is placed at ahigher ranking employer. In this way, the compensation structure mayencourage the individuals to provide better services for favoredclients/employers.

Note that the compensation system may be administered by a personnelmanager or the like associated with the recruiting organization. Themanager may also be a recruiter him or herself Moreover, the manager mayuse a computerized interface to access databases that store informationregarding the recruiters' performance and other relevant information.The recruiters' performance may be entered manually from time to time,e.g., by the recruiter or the manager or other designated person, or maybe tracked automatically. A software program may be used to track thecandidates that are assigned to the recruiters, and the amount of timefor a placement. For example, the date a candidate is assigned to arecruited can be entered using using the program, along with the datathe candidate is placed. The software can then automatically calculatethe placement time, e.g., in days, and store the results for later use.Other information, such as the identity of the employer, and the revenuederived from the placement can also be stored for later use indetermining compensation and performance. In this manner, variousperformance metrics for each recruiter can be developed over time foruse in determining compensation.

For example, the personnel manager may use a computer to store dataregarding the base compensation and performance goal for each recruiter,and data that indicates an actual performance of the recruiters and thegroup. Any database management software such as Microsoft Access may beused for managing the data that is stored on a storage medium associatedwith the computer. Based on the information entered into the database,the software may perform calculations, via instructions executed at aprocessor (e.g., at the server 507), to determine the actualcompensation to be awarded. Such calculations may be run at the commandof the operator, e.g., by clicking on an appropriate icon on a graphicaluser interface. Or, the calculations may be run automatically after eachlogon, or on some other periodic basis. Moreover, the software may bedesigned to display the results on the interface in an appropriatemanner, such as by providing a list of recruiters and their performanceinformation and compensation.

In a further approach, a bonus structure for the telemarketers may beprovided. For example, four different bonus categories may be provided:Bonus One, Two, Team, and First Introductory bonus. All bonuses are paidout on a monthly basis. The base bonus for a telesales consultant is$1,250 per month. This is split evenly among the four targets and is notcapped. (The more you go over the minimum target the more you are paid).The first bonus is paid out on the points achieved by the telemarketerand the team they work for. Points are given according to the internalrating system. This is based on the suitability of the candidate thatwas bought in for placement.

The rating is assigned the following points: P1=5, P2=4, P3=3, P4=2,UP=−1.

Bonus One: Based on individual telemarketer monthly achievement in totalpoints hit. 40=$312.50. Additional $4.50 per point over the minimumtarget.

Bonus Two: Based on individual ICIs set by each telemarketer on amonthly basis. 20 ICIs=$312.50. Additional $8 per ICI over minimumtarget.

Team Bonus: Recognition of team achievement in total points (set by eachteam) on a weekly basis. Each team will have a unique target approved byManagement. Each team target is based on team member's probation, hoursworked and size of the team itself. As an example, at 60 points, bonusis $55 per member. Additional $9.17 per additional point to bedistributed amongst members.

First Introductory Bonus: An incentive to encourage team members tobring in new high potentials candidates. Three introductions perweek=$120. Note: If target is not met in any one week, the bonus willnot be given. Additional $40 on every additional introduction.

Note that the dollar amounts given above are examples only.

III. Assigning Candidates to Candidate Specialists, and AssigningEmployers to Client Specialists.

Referring to FIG. 7 a, a process for assigning job candidates tocandidate specialists for placement services varies depending on how thejob candidates are attracted to the recruiting services. For instance,candidates attracted and screened by telemarketers (701) for a follow-uppersonal interview, may be assigned to candidate specialists based onrespective evaluations, including quality or other characteristics, ofthe candidate and the candidate specialist. A goal is to assigncandidates to compatible candidate specialists so they will becomfortable with one another. For example, a job candidate who is at ahigh level in his or her current job may be more demanding, and expectto be assigned to a highly capable candidate specialists. Alternatively,candidates of a particular rating may be assigned to recruiters in acyclic or round robin manner (e.g., candidate #1 assigned to recruiter#1, candidate #2 assigned to recruiter #2, and so on), such that everyrecruiter of a group of recruiters may get the opportunity to placehighly rated candidates. The cyclic assignment scheme may be limited tocandidates and recruiters of the same or similar ratings.

The job candidates may be evaluated based on relevant historicalinformation and requirements and preferences criteria, discussedpreviously, which may vary based on the particular industry and positionunder consideration, and which is gathered during the initial screeningteleconferences. Preferably, job candidates are rated/evaluated (702),e.g., on a G scale, based on the relevant historic and preferenceinformation, and the relevant information is stored (703) in a candidatedatabase for subsequent access. The job candidate may be rated on ascale that accounts for a degree of placeability, e.g., based onexperience, education, time at current company, frequency of jobchanges, and level at current job, and the degree of urgency in findinga new job.

Moreover, the candidate specialists may also be evaluated based on,e.g., the recruiter's evaluation, which may include experience, trackrecord, and performance. For example, the candidate specialists may beranked according to an amount of revenue derived from their services inplacing job candidates, and/or how quickly they are able to place jobcandidates (e.g., average placement time in days). The specialists maybe arranged into tiers such that specialists that generally perform atthe same level are in the same tier.

Generally, the job candidate should be assigned to a selected candidatespecialist according to a correspondence between the job candidate'sevaluation and the selected specialist's evaluation. Job candidates witha G1 rating (the highest candidate rating), for example, may generallybe assigned to a candidate specialist with greater experience and with abetter track record for placement, whereas a candidate with a G5 rating(the lowest candidate rating) may be assigned to a candidate specialistwith less experience and/or with a worse track record. The selectedspecialist is primarily responsible for placing the candidate in a job,although other candidate specialists, as well as client specialists, mayalso assist, as discussed further below in the “team oriented approach”.

Alternatively, candidates of a particular rating may be cyclicallyassigned to recruiters, such that every recruiter of a group ofrecruiters, may get the opportunity to place highly rated candidates.

Job candidates attracted by candidate specialists (705), e.g., throughefforts made by the specialists, such as phone or personal contacts,should preferably be assigned to the specialist that attracted the jobcandidate. Similarly, a candidate specialist that selects unassigned jobcandidates (706), e.g., unassigned because of an expired assignment, asdetermined by searching the candidate database, preferably are assignedthe job candidate they locate.

Irrespective of the method by which job candidates are assigned tocandidate specialists, an expiration date for the assignment may be set(707). The expiration time may be a fixed time for all candidates, e.g.,ninety days from the date of assignment, or may vary to conform to thecomplexity of the placement. For example, a longer expiration time maybe set for placing job candidates with specialized skills, or a shorterexpiration time may be set by request for job candidates or employerswith time constraints. Between the start of the assignment and theexpiration date, the candidate specialists attempt to match their jobcandidates to jobs openings (708). If a candidate specialistsuccessfully places a job candidate prior to the expiration of theassignment (709), the candidate specialist may proceed to close theplacement (710). If, however, a job candidate is not placed before theexpiration date, the assignment ends, and the job candidate becomesunassigned. Unassigned candidates may then be assigned to a nextcandidate specialist, again preferably one with a correspondingevaluation, or be selected by a candidate specialist who searches thedatabase of unassigned candidates.

The assignment of candidates to candidate specialists may be carried outin a computerized manner by providing a computer-generated interface forreceiving and outputting information. For example, referring also toFIG. 5, one of the recruiter interfaces 504 may be operated by arecruiter or other personnel associated with the recruiting organizationto store data regarding the evaluations of job candidates andrecruiters, such as candidate specialists. A processor (e.g., at theserver 507 and/or at the workstations) then executes softwareinstructions to assign the job candidates to the recruiters based on acorrespondence between their evaluations. For example, the software maymatch up more highly evaluated candidates with more highly evaluatedrecruiters, while also matching lower evaluated candidates with lowerevaluated recruiters. The software may also account for the number ofcandidates that are currently assigned to a recruiter so that theassignments are spread among the recruiters relatively evenly orotherwise in proportion to the number of candidates that each recruitercan take on, or wishes to take on. Moreover, job candidates with thesame rating may be assigned in a cyclical or round robin manner to therecruiters, such that each recruiter receives the next assignment, andafter all recruiters receive one assignment, each receives a secondassignment and so on until all candidates have been assigned.

The software may further be designed to access the database ofinformation on a computer's storage medium (such as at the databasesassociated with the server 507) to assign a job candidate to anotherrecruiter when the previously-selected recruiter is unable to place thecandidate within a given time period. The job candidate may be assignedinitially to the recruiter that obtained him or her. Furthermore,unassigned job candidates may be assigned to recruiters that select themvia their computerized interfaces. For example, the recruiters may beable to view historical information and requirements and preferencescriteria via the interface for the unassigned candidates, then select acandidate that he or she is interested in trying to place. The softwareresponds to the recruiter's request by assigning the selected candidateto the recruiter, and updating the database so that other recruiterswill know the candidate has been assigned.

Referring to FIG. 7 b, a recruiting organization may include clientspecialists, who are responsible for obtaining employers with availablejobs. Similar to the way job candidates are assigned to candidatespecialists, the employers may be assigned to the client specialists.The process of assigning employers to client specialists for placementservices may vary depending on the method by which the employers areattracted for recruiting services. For instance, employers attracted andscreened by telemarketers (711) for follow-up client (employer)interviews, may be assigned to client specialists (714) based on therespective quality/evaluation of the employer and the specialist In suchinterviews, the client specialist discusses the employer's recruitingneeds and obtains information on its available jobs. The matching ofjobs with candidates (715) may then occur.

Moreover, preferably the employers are rated (712), such as on a Tscale. In a specific example of the T scale, tier ratings maybe reviewedon quarterly or bi-quarterly intervals, or more often, on average everyweek, and if the situation warrants, in several daily updates withselected clients depending on the recent activities and news about thecompany or respective industry it operates in.

The following discussion of tiers is made from the perspective of therecruiting organization. Tier ratings reflect the status of the currentactive clients, e.g., (a) active, non-active, re-negotiate, re-develop,hiring freeze, contact freeze, don't touch, defunct; and b) client,ex-client, target, develop, and client rating, e.g., core, hot, proven,just signed, potential, unproven, desperate, slowing down, stalled, jobsfilled, terminated.

TIER 1

Tier 1 clients are defined by two major points:

These companies are hiring aggressively, both in quantity and quickly.They need to build up their compares quickly to compete and bring mrevenue.

The recruiting organization knows and understands these clients, boththeir business and their people.

-   1. These companies have been clients for some period of time, often    several years.-   2. Over that time, we have become acquainted not only with their    Human Resources officers, but also with their line managers and    executives.-   3. We have already placed candidates into these client companies and    have built up a high degree of trust, allowing us to negotiate    effectively directly with the hiring managers and if necessary their    HQ staff as well.-   4. We understand their recruiting process, offer letters, stock    options, incentives and company-specific bonuses.-   5. We understand their organization (have the ability to produce a    detailed organization chart) and how it relates and works with their    headquarters, if overseas.-   6. Often, we can introduce candidates without sending a resume in    advance. Due to our close relationship and past success in    placements, we can arrange meetings for candidates who we recommend.

Since Tier 1 clients are serious regarding recruiting and aggressivelyfilling their hiring needs, the recruiting organization may offer thefollowing services to assist our clients in achieving their goals:

Preferred client services. Assignment of an account manager tofacilitate communication between the client and our consultants, as wellas research for candidates.

Opportunity for the client to give a presentation to all our consultantsto raise mind-share and knowledge of the particular client.

On-site recruiting. We will place a member of our Client Services on ourclient's site so that all recruiting responsibilities are channeledthrough this Account Manager for more effective recruiting.

Additional services may be offered depending on the clients' needs. Weare able to organize and manage recruiting seminars, produce brochuresand other marketing materials for our clients' recruiting purposes.

TIER 2

Tier 2 clients are strong clients, up-and-coming, great potential orotherwise compelling. The following details Tier 2 clients:

Hot to hire. Whereas Tier 1 clients are usually following a carefullycoordinated and pre-arranged hiring plan, Tier 2 clients are desperateto hire. This could be the result of urgent needs to bring in morerevenue or to support customers.

We understand to a certain extent how these companies work internally,and what their recruiting process is like. Of course, we have met withtheir management and understand their business; however we don'tunderstand their company structure as deeply as we would hope; this cantake weeks, and sometimes months to achieve—unfortunately, on average,most of the clients' hiring cycle is only about 6 months.

Usually still in a start-up mode (could be 10 staff in Japan or 500staff in Japan—depending on the company and industry) and hiring forseveral key positions. They aren't usually hiring in quantity, but if wecan help to place the key employees, we will open up more opportunitiesin the future.

TEIR 3

Tier 3 clients are core clients, and usually equal in terms of number ofclients to Tier 4. The following traits describe Tier 3 clients:

We have made at least one placement into these clients. Usually we havedealt with these companies for some time and learnt their ways of doingbusiness. We have some contacts in the HQ/APAC level and can consultdirectly with these people if necessary.

We have met the line managers but still may only have limited access tothem—we usually know most of the key players in key positions.

These clients are hiring, but sometimes in a limited manner, maybe onlyone open job spec.

TIER 4

Tier 4 clients are companies in transition and new clients. Tier 4clients are usually showing hiring potential, as they are either newclients who have just signed our fee agreement or non-active clientsthat have new headcount to fill. In addition, some Tier 4 clients willbe slowing down their hiring. Tier 4 clients are characterized by thefollowing traits:

We may have to introduce our candidates through the clients' HumanResources instead of directly contacting line managers. We may not haveeven met the executives yet.

We don't understand fully how their company works. We have beenintroduced to their business and products/services, but don't understandhow their internal procedures work or how offers are generated.

The client may not have any approved budget for additional headcount.

TEIR 5

Tier 5 clients are non-active clients, or active but slow clients. Thesecompanies usually fall into one or more of the following categories:

Companies we have worked with in the past. We may or may not have placedcandidates into these companies. However, they are currently notpro-actively hiring (all positions filled, stalled positions, nocandidate meetings activity recently, no headcount from HQ and so on).

Companies that are potentially hiring in the near future, and showpromise of being promoted to Tier 4.

Companies that are not doing well in their respective industry andtherefore may soon be laying off employees.

Due to a change in management or recruiting policy, unsuccessfulexecution of their business, merger or for some other business reason,these companies no longer match our culture well and may be on its wayto becoming a target for us, in other words, a source of candidates.

Thus, with the employer evaluation scheme above, the employers can beassigned to the client specialists that have corresponding evaluations,where the employer's evaluation may be based on factors such as itsrevenue-generating potential and/or previous revenue generating record,and the client specialist's evaluation may generally take into account,e.g., the specialists' experience, track record, and performance. Thespecialists may also be arranged in tiers such that those in a commontier have roughly equal performance. Employers with a T1 rating (thehighest employer rating), for example, may be assigned to a specialistwith greater experience and with a better track record for placement,whereas an employer with a T5 rating (the lowest employer rating) may beassigned to a specialist with less experience and/or with a worse trackrecord. Employers attracted by specialists (713), e.g., through thespecialists' efforts, should preferably be assigned to the specialistthat attracted the employer. However, employers that are attracted bythe same client specialist may still be assigned to other clientspecialists, for instance, if the given client specialist is too busy tohandle them, or chooses to not handle them.

The assignment of the employers to the client specialists may be carriedout in a computerized manner by providing a computer-generated interfacefor receiving and outputting information. For example, referring also toFIG. 5, one of the recruiter interfaces 504 may be operated by arecruiter or other personnel associated with the recruiting organizationto store data regarding the evaluations of employers and recruiters,such as client specialists. The data may be stored locally or at acentral location such as the server 507. A processor (at the serverand/or workstation, depending on whether local or networked applicationsare used) then executes software instructions to assign the employers tothe recruiters based on a correspondence between their evaluations. Forexample, the software may match up more highly evaluated employers withmore highly evaluated recruiters, while also matching lower evaluatedemployers with lower evaluated recruiters. The software may also accountfor the number of employers that are currently assigned to a recruiterso that the assignments are spread among the recruiters relativelyevenly or otherwise in proportion to the number of employers that eachrecruiter can take on, or wishes to take on. Moreover, employers withthe same rating may be assigned in a cyclical or round robin manner tothe recruiters, such that each recruiter receives the next assignment,and after all recruiters receive one assignment, each receives a secondassignment, and so on, until all employers have been assigned.

The software may further be designed to access the database ofinformation on the storage medium to assign an employer to anotherrecruiter when the previously-selected recruiter is unable to fill thejobs (all the jobs or a predetermined portion of the jobs) of theemployers within a given time period. The employer may be assignedinitially to the recruiter that obtained it, e.g., through a referral,networking, personal contact, etc. The software may be designed todisplay the results on the interface in an appropriate manner, such asby providing a list of employer and recruiter matches.

IV. Obtaining Candidates and Job Openings for Employment Recruiting

Referring to FIG. 8, a process for employment recruiting independentlyobtains a pool of job candidates and a pool of jobs. This is termed“reverse recruiting” since it does not follow the conventional idea offirst obtaining a job opening, then finding a candidate to fill theopening. The conventional approach usually results in significant delaysbefore an opening can be filled. With the present invention, a pool ofcandidates is always available so that jobs can be filled quickly. Thisis particularly advantageous for the IT industry and others where thereis a strong demand for employees, and a lot of employee movement betweencompanies.

Reverse recruiting may begin by obtaining a job opening pool (801) andobtaining a job candidate pool (802). The job candidate pool should bepopulated with placeable job candidates, for example, by populating(entering data into) a database of job candidates. The job candidates'placeability may be determined during initial screening teleconferences,as described above, which may be conducted by telemarketers or byrecruiters, e.g., by phone, or during personal interviews conducted bythe recruiters/candidate specialists. Similarly, the job opening poolmay be populated with available jobs by signing employers with jobs foremployment recruiting services. Preferably, the jobs are obtained by aclient specialist or specialists, that is/are not candidate specialists.In this way, the disparate needs of the employers and the candidates canbe handled by respective dedicated personnel at the recruitingorganization.

Next, candidates may be matched with jobs (803), which generally denotespairing job candidates with available jobs, taking into account therequirements and preferences criteria, discussed previously, provided byboth the job candidates and the employers. The match may be accomplishedby the candidate specialists searching the job-opening database foravailable positions that coincide with the criteria provided by jobcandidates assigned to them. Alternatively, or in addition, the matchmay be accomplished by the client specialists searching the jobcandidate database for job candidates that coincide with the employercriteria provided. In one possibility, the candidate specialists andclient specialists match candidates with jobs in a cooperative effort.The cooperative effort maybe between candidate specialists, such as byhaving those with knowledge of available jobs offering relevant jobopening information to other candidate specialists, or candidatespecialists communicating their respective knowledge of job candidatesand available jobs to one another in a group. Thus, the candidatespecialist to whom a candidate is assigned may be assisted by othercandidate specialists.

Likewise, the cooperative effort may be between client specialists suchas those with knowledge of available jobs offering relevant job openinginformation to other client specialists, or client specialistscommunicating their respective knowledge of job candidates and availablejobs to one another in a group. Further, the cooperative effort may bebetween candidate specialists and client specialists who communicatetheir respective knowledge of jobs and job candidates to one another.

When at least one match has been made, the job opening is presented tothe job candidate to determine whether the individual is interested(804). Preferably, the job candidate is presented with three matchingjobs for review. If the job candidate is not interested in the jobspresented, the individual may be processed for a next match or set ofmatches. It however, the job candidate is interested in any or all ofthe matching jobs, the job candidate's resume may be sent (805) to theassociated employer(s) for review. Optionally, based on an employer'srequest, a client specialist will review the job candidate's resume forconformance with the employer's criteria prior to trasmittal of theresume. If the employer is interested (806) in the job candidate, aninterview may be arranged between the employer and the job candidate(807). This interview may follow the ICI. After the interview,communications with the employer may be established for feedback on thesuccess of the client-employer interview (808). If there is negativefeedback, i.e., the employer is not interested in the job candidate, thejob candidate may be referred for further matching. It, however, thereis positive feedback, i.e., the employer shows interest in the jobcandidate, a follow up interview with the employer may be arranged(809).

Preferably, the job candidate receives a job offer (810) as a result ofthe matching efforts. If the offer is not acceptable, it may benegotiated by the candidate specialist assigned to the job candidateand/or by a client specialist that is assigned to the employer.Optionally, the terms of the offer may be negotiated before a formaloffer is presented. If the offer is acceptable to the job candidate aspresented (811) or after negotiation (812), the match may proceed toclosing (813), which generally denotes finalizing the job placement,including communicating acceptance to the offer, signing relevantdocuments, and receiving payment for the services. Optionally, paymentfor services may occur at an agreed time, such as after the jobcandidate completes a probationary period, at which time theclient/employer is sent an invoice for the services rendered (814). Thishopefully results in receiving payment from the client (815). Note, theemployer has been referred to as the client with respect to the partypaying the fee for recruiting services, however, in appropriatecircumstances, the fee may be charged to other parties, such as the jobcandidate. That is, in some cases, the candidate will pay a fee for therecruiting services, while in other cases the services areemployer-paid. In another alternative, the fee is paid by a sponsoringparty such as a charity or government agency.

After the placement, the commissions due the respective individuals thatcontributed to the placement, such as candidate specialists and clientspecialists, may be issued (816), as discussed previously in connectionwith FIG. 6. Optionally, a record of the job candidate containinginformation relevant to the placement, such as the candidate's name, thematching employers, salary, contact information, preference information,ratings, etc., may be stored in a candidate relations database forfuture reference (817).

The managing of the job candidates, employers and job openings may becarried out in a computerized manner by providing a computer-generatedinterface for receiving and outputting information. For example,referring also to FIG. 5, one of the recruiter interfaces 504 may beoperated by a recruiter or other personnel associated with therecruiting organization to store data identifying the pool of jobcandidates and pool of available jobs from the associated employers. Inone possibility, the recruiter interfaces include separate interfacesused by the candidate specialists and the client specialists, where acandidate specialist (or other associated operator) uses one interfaceto enter the data identifying the pool of available candidates, and aclient specialist (or other associated operator) uses another interfaceto enter the data identifying the pool of available jobs. The data maybe stored at a centralized location, such as the databases 508, 510,520, via communications by the network 512. Note that the telemarketer'sinterface 501 may also enter data to these databases in place of, or inaddition to, the data entered via the interfaces of the clientspecialists and candidate specialists. The data stored may also includethe criteria provided by the candidates and the employers, as discussedpreviously.

The assigning of the employers/job openings to the client specialistsmay also be carried out in a computerized manner. For example, aprocessor in a computer (e.g., the server 507 and/or local workstation)may execute software instructions to assign the employers to the clientspecialists based on a correspondence between their evaluations suchthat more highly evaluated employers are assigned to more highlyevaluated client specialists. The software may also account for thenumber of employers that are currently assigned to a specialist so thatthe assignments are spread among the specialists relatively evenly orotherwise in proportion to the number of employers that each specialistcan take on, or wishes to take on. The software may offer be designed toaccess the database of information on the computer's storage medium toassign an employer to another client specialist when thepreviously-selected specialist is unable to fill all or a predeterminedportion of the jobs of the employers within a given time period. Theemployer maybe assigned initially to the specialist that obtained it,e.g., through a referral, networking, personal contact, etc.

Additionally, a processor in a computer (e.g., the server 507 and/orlocal workstation) may execute software instructions to assign theavailable job candidates to the candidate specialists based on acorrespondence between their evaluations such that more highly evaluatedcandidates are assigned to more highly evaluated candidate specialists.The software may also account for the number of candidates that arecurrently assigned to a specialist so that the assignments are spreadamong the specialists relatively evenly or otherwise in proportion tothe number of candidates that each specialist can take on, or wishes totake on. The software may further be designed to access the databases ofinformation on the computer's storage medium to assign a candidate toanother candidate specialist when the previously-selected specialist isunable to place the candidate within a given time period. The candidatemay be assigned initially to the specialist that obtained him or her,e.g., through a referral, networking, personal contact, etc. Thesoftware may be designed to display the results on the interface in anappropriate manner, such as by providing a list of candidates, jobmatches, candidate specialist matches, and client specialist matches.

V. Team Oriented Approach to Matching Candidates with Jobs

Referring to FIG. 9, job candidates may be matched to jobs in acooperative effort. For example, example job candidates (901) and (910)are each assigned to candidate specialists (902) and (920),respectively. Employers with jobs (904) and (940) are assigned to clientspecialists (903) and (930), respectively. The cooperative effort mayinclude open communications between candidate specialists, such ascandidate specialists (902) and (920), to match their respective jobcandidates withjobs. For instance, candidate specialist (902) withknowledge of available jobs and of job candidate (910) may openlycommunicate relevant job information to candidate specialist (920).Candidate specialist (920) may do the same for candidate specialist(902) by providing information on jobs that may be suitable for thecandidate (901). A group of candidate specialists with knowledge of jobcandidates and of available jobs may also communicate with each otherinformation relevant to one another's assigned job candidates or otherjob candidates in a group.

Similarly, the cooperative effort may include open communicationsbetween client specialists, such as specialists (903) and (930), tomatch their respective employers with job candidates. For instance,specialist (903) with knowledge of available job candidates and ofemployer (904) may openly communicate job candidate information relevantto employer (904) to specialist (930). Client specialist (930) may dothe same for specialist (903) by communicating job candidate informationrelevant to employer (940) to specialist (903).

Moreover, a group of client specialists with knowledge of job candidatesand of available jobs may also communicate with each other informationrelevant to one another's assigned employers or other employers in agroup. The cooperative effort, further, may include open communicationsbetween candidate specialists and client specialists, or a combinationof a plurality thereof.

The team-oriented method of matching candidates with jobs may be carriedout in a computerized manner by providing a computer-generated interfacefor receiving and outputting information. For example, referring also toFIG. 5, the recruiter interfaces 504 may include interfaces that areoperated by client specialists and candidate specialists or otherpersonnel associated with the recruiting organization to store dataregarding the pool of job candidates and the pool of available jobs fromthe associated employers. The data may be stored at a centralizedlocation, such as the databases 508, 510, 520, via communications by thenetwork 512.

A processor associated with a central and/or local computer is adaptedto access the storage medium (e.g., databases) and execute softwareinstructions to match the job candidates to the jobs by a cooperativeeffort between the candidate specialists, the client specialists, and/orthe candidate specialists and the client specialists. In one approach, acandidate specialist suggests potential candidate-job matches to anothercandidate specialist. In another approach, a client specialist suggestspotential candidate-job matches to another client specialist. In afurther approach, a combination of the above processes is used (e.g.,client specialist to candidate specialist, and candidate specialist toclient specialist communications).

In particular, the interfaces may be configured to allow the specialiststo communicate with one another to suggest potential candidate-jobmatches. For example, a database index or other identifier may bereferenced to specifically identify a candidate and/or job (ex:candidate C22, job J102). In another approach, a message can be sentbetween specialists that causes information regarding a potentialcandidate-job match to be displayed, e.g., in the form of a resume ofthe candidate and a description of the job, along with evaluations ofthe candidate and/or employer, and other information such as thecommission which may be earned from the placement, the time period inwhich the candidate has been looking for a job, and the time period inwhich the job has been available. The information may be displayed indetailed or summary, form. When in summary form, a hyperlink or otherlink to further detailed information may be provided. When the link isactivated, the database is accessed to obtain and display the associatedinformation on the specialist's interface, e.g., in a new screen or popup screen. The communications between the specialists interfaces may bevia e-mail, instant messaging, or any other available system.

VI. Matching Candidates with Jobs Incorporating Job Candidate andEmployer Evaluations

Referring to FIG. 10, a process is shown for matching job candidateswith available jobs based on job candidate and employer ratings. Theprocess may begin with a follow-up personal interview (1001), i.e., theICI, which is used to confirm information obtained during initialscreening teleconferences, obtain additional relevant information, andfurther evaluate the quality of the job candidates regardinginterpersonal skills, appearance, speech, and attitude. For example, thecandidate may be evaluated initially by an administrative employee ofthe recruiting firm, such as a receptionist who makes an initial contactwith the candidate, and then by a candidate specialist based on a formalinterview.

The candidate specialist that conducts the follow-up personal interviewshould confirm the historic information and criteria that may have beenobtained during the initial screening teleconference and supplement theinformation with relevant additional or new information. The candidatespecialist may further evaluate the quality of the job candidate abasedon first impression, interview skills, and so forth, incorporatingcomments prepared by the administrate employee, and may also inquireinto the candidate's willingness to change positions, and the salary andposition sought.

The candidate specialist may then evaluate candidates on their relativeplaceability (1002) and on urgency for placement (1003). Placeabilitymay be in the form of a P scale, e.g., including P1 to P4, and UP(unplaceable) designations, where P1 indicates the highest placeability,P2 the next highest, and so forth. The P rating may encompass at leastsome of the relevant elements considered for placeability, such as thecandidate's education, experience, time at current company, frequency ofjob changes, level at current or previous job, etc., and additionalinformation gathered during the follow-up personal interview, such asthe candidate's first impression, interview skills, etc., and thecomments prepared by the administrative personnel. An example P ratingscheme is as follows:

P1

Job type: Sales and Engineers only

5-7 min. years experience in the IT industry

Intermediate English minimum requirement

Preferably less than 10 years at one company

P2

Job type: Sales and Engineers only

Min. 5 years in IT industry

Max. 12 years at one company

English: Functional+

Foreigners:

-   -   Foreign bank IT engineer No Japanese is ok    -   Non bank Engineer-Advanced Japanese is required.

P3

Job type: All

Min 2 years in IT

Max 15 years in one company

English for sales/engineers: Functional+

Advanced English for the rest

P4

Borderline candidates

2 years in IT.

UP

No English skills for Japanese nationals/No Japanese for foreigners.

No IT related skills

Poor personality/motivation

Additionally, urgency may be in the form of a U scale comprising the setof A, B, or C designations, where an A urgency is deemed a greaterurgency than a B urgency and a B higher than a C. The U rating mayinclude the candidate's willingness to change positions, and/or thesalary and positions sought in relation to the candidatesqualifications. Candidates with a C rating are typically unwilling orunable to accept a position. Similarly, candidates demanding anunrealistic salary or a position not commensurate with theirqualifications may be classified as low urgency C candidates.

The candidate specialist should reassess the candidate's placeability(1004) based on the information gathered during the follow-up personalinterview. If the candidate is not placeable, i.e., a UP and/or a Ccandidate, the candidate's records may be sent to the candidaterelations department for future attention (1005).

A method of matching job candidates with available jobs whileincorporating job candidate and employer evaluations may include ratingthe quality of employers and their respective jobs (1006). The qualityof an employer may be derived, e.g., from its revenue-generatingpotential. Preferably, employers are rated, such as on a T scalecomprising the set of T1 to T5 designations, where a lower numerical Trating indicates a higher grade. For example, a T1 is greater than T2,etc. The T rating comprises factors indicative of the revenue generatingpotential for the recruiting company, such as the quantity of jobslisted with the company, etc.

Candidate specialists may then proceed to match job candidates withavailable jobs using the job candidate and employer ratings (1007),e.g., by searching the job opening database for available jobs thatcoincide with the preference information provided by the job candidates.The database search may be a keyword search, such as by position,salary, education sought, rating, and so forth. Alternatively, the matchmay be performed by the client specialists searching the job candidatedatabase for available candidates whose criteria coincide with thecriteria provided by the employers, or in a cooperative effort asprovided above.

The matching of candidates with jobs using ratings may be carried out ina computerized manner by providing a computer-generated interface forreceiving and outputting information. For example, referring also toFIG. 5, the recruiter interfaces 504 may be operated by clientspecialists, candidate specialists or other personnel associated withthe recruiting organization to store data obtained by evaluating the jobcandidates and the employers. The data may be stored at a centralizedlocation, such as the databases 508,510, 520, via communications by thenetwork 512. A processor associated with a central and/or local computeris adapted to access the storage medium (e.g., databases) and executesoftware instructions to match the job candidates to the jobs accordingto a correspondence between the job candidate's evaluating and theemployer's evaluating. Thus, more highly rated candidates are matched tomore highly rated jobs.

In another approach, the recruiter interfaces 504 are operated to storedata obtained by rating the job candidates and employers, where the jobcandidates are rated on a scale that accounts for a degree ofplaceability, and/or a scale that accounts for a degree of urgency infinding a new job, and the employers with respective available jobs arerated by accounting for the amount of jobs associated with theparticular employer out of a total number of jobs of the pool ofavailable jobs for a predetermined time period. Thus, a given employerthat has relatively many jobs to fill is rated relatively higher. Aprocessor associated with a central and/or local computer is adapted toaccess the storage medium (e.g., databases) and execute softwareinstructions to assign job candidates to recruiters, and to match thejob candidates to the available jobs according to a correspondencebetween the job candidate's rating and the employer's rating. Thesoftware may be designed to display the results on the interface in anappropriate manner, such as by providing a list of candidates, jobmatches, and recruiter matches.

Accordingly, it can be seen that the present invention provides methodsand systems for employment recruiting. In one aspect, a remote callcenter is used to make initial contact with the candidates to obtaininformation regarding their placeability and urgency in changing jobs,and to provide an initial screening. With this approach, candidates dealpersonally with someone who is part of the local community, while thecall center can be located in a low cost area. A local candidatespecialist may then personally interview the candidate.

In another aspect, compensation is set for recruiters by adjusting abase compensation based on individual and group performance. Thecompensation structure enhances communication and sharing of informationthat could assist in placing candidates in jobs.

In another aspect, candidates are assigned to candidate specialists, andclient employers are assigned to client specialists.

In another aspect, job candidates and job openings are independentlyobtained so that candidates will be available immediately to fill theopenings. Moreover, candidate specialists may primarily provide servicesto the candidates, while client specialists primarily provide servicesto the employers.

In another aspect, in a team-oriented method of matching candidates withjobs, candidates may be matched to jobs by cooperation among candidatespecialists and client specialists

In another aspect, candidates are matched with jobs using candidate andemployer ratings.

The invention has been described in an illustrative manner, and it is tobe understood that the terminology that has been used is intended to bein the nature of words of description rather than of limitation. Theinvention may be embodied in other specific forms without departing fromthe spirit or essential characteristics thereof. The present embodimentsare therefore to be considered in all respects as illustrative and notrestrictive.

1. A system for matching job candidates to jobs, comprising: a computerreadable medium for storing: (a) candidate information, including namesof job candidates, historical information, a potential candidate'sinterest in leaving a current job, and at least one of requirements andpreference criteria of a potential candidate, and (b) job information;wherein: an employment recruiter is assigned to a candidate whose nameis stored based at least partially on evaluation information stored forthat candidate; the candidate information and job information isaccessed from the computer readable medium or mediums with the aid of acomputer to determine potential matches; and an employment recruiterselects a job for consideration by a potential candidate to whom therecruiter has been assigned.
 2. A telecommunications system for use byan employment recruiting organization, comprising: a firsttelecommunications apparatus at a first facility at a location that islocal with respect to a job market; wherein the first telecommunicationsapparatus is operatively coupled to a telephone communications systemproviding at least one telephone number either local with respect to thelocation of a job market or toll-free, and the first facility has astaff including employment recruiters; a second telecommunicationsapparatus at a second facility at a location that is remote with respectto the job market; wherein the second telecommunications apparatus isoperatively coupled to the telephone communications system, and thesecond facility has a staff including telemarketers; wherein the firstand second telecommunications apparatuses employ a call forwardingfeature of the telephone communications system to forward calls to theat least one telephone number of the first facility to the secondfacility for answering by a telemarketer at the second facility.
 3. Atelecommunications facility for use by an employment recruitingorganization, comprising: a first telecommunications apparatus at afirst facility at a location that is local with respect to a job market;wherein the first telecommunications apparatus is operatively coupled toa telephone communications system providing at least one telephonenumber either local with respect to the location of a job market ortoll-free, and the first facility has a staff including employmentrecruiters; a second telecommunications apparatus at a second facilityat a location that is remote with respect to the job market; wherein thesecond telecommunications apparatus is operatively coupled to thetelephone communications system, and the second facility has a staffincluding telemarketers; wherein the first and second telecommunicationsapparatuses employ a call identification feature of the telephonecommunications system which indicates to a potential job candidatecalled by a telemarketer at the second facility the at least onetelephone number of the first facility.
 4. A system for use by anemployment recruiting organization in setting compensation for eachemployment recruiter of a group of employment recruiters providingemployment services, comprising: a storage medium for storing: (a) datathat indicates a base compensation and a performance goal for aparticular function or set of functions for each recruiter in the groupof recruiters, (b) data that indicates an actual performance of aparticular recruiter, and (c) data that indicates an actual performanceof the group; and a processor adapted to access the storage medium andexecute instructions to determine an actual compensation for theparticular recruiter according to the base compensation of theparticular recruiter, the actual performance of the particularrecruiter, and the actual performance of the group.
 5. The system ofclaim 4, further comprising: at least one user computer-implementedinterface for receiving an operator input for storing data in thestorage medium, and for presenting the actual compensation.
 6. Thesystem of claim 4, wherein: the actual performance of the particularrecruiter and the actual performance of the group are measured over apredetermined time period.
 7. The system of claim 4, wherein: the actualperformance of the particular recruiter is measured based on a revenuederived from the particular recruiter, and the actual performance of thegroup is measured based on a revenue derived from the group.
 8. Thesystem of claim 4, wherein: the actual performance of the particularrecruiter is measured based on a number of job candidates placed in jobsby the particular recruiter, and the performance of the group ismeasured based on a number of job candidates placed in jobs by thegroup.
 9. The system of claim 4, wherein: the actual compensation isdetermined by adjusting the base compensation according to the actualperformance of the group to obtain a group-adjusted compensation, andadjusting the group-adjusted compensation according to the actualperformance of the particular recruiter.
 10. The system of claim 4,wherein: the actual compensation is determined by adjusting the basecompensation according to the actual performance of the particularrecruiter to obtain an individual-adjusted compensation, and adjustingthe individual-adjusted compensation according to the actual performanceof the group.
 11. The system of claim 4, wherein: the actualcompensation is determined by adjusting the base compensation accordingto the actual performance of the particular recruiter, and adjusting thebase compensation according to the actual performance of the group. 12.The system of claim 4, wherein: an actual performance of each respectiverecruiter in the group is measured; and an actual compensation for eachrespective recruiter is determined according to the base compensationthereof, an actual performance thereof, and the actual performance ofthe group.
 13. The system of claim 4, wherein: the actual performance ofthe particular recruiter is measured based on how quickly job candidatesare placed in jobs by particular recruiters.
 14. The system of claim 4,wherein: the actual performance of the particular recruiter is measuredbased on compensation of jobs in which job candidates are placed by theparticular recruiter.
 15. The system of claim 4, wherein: the actualperformance of the particular recruiter is measured based on aevaluation of employers at which the job candidates are placed by theparticular recruiter, such that actual performance of the particularrecruiter is determined to be higher when a candidate is placed at ahigher evaluation employer.
 16. A system of setting compensation foreach individual, of a group, performing a service resulting from thecontribution or contributions of one or more individuals in the group,comprising: a storage medium for storing: (a) data that indicates a basecompensation and a performance goal for a particular function or set offunctions for each individual in the group; (b) data that indicates aperformance goal for the group; (c) data that indicates an actualperformance of the particular individual; and (d) data that indicates anactual performance of the group; and a processor adapted to access thestorage medium and execute instructions to determine an actualcompensation for the particular individual according to the basecompensation of the particular individual, an actual performance of theparticular individual, and an actual performance of the group.
 17. Thesystem of claim 16, wherein: the actual performance of the, particularindividual and the actual performance of the group are measured over apredetermined time period.
 18. The system of claim 16, wherein: theactual performance of the particular individual is measured based on arevenue derived from the particular individual's contribution to theservices, and the actual performance of the group is measured based on arevenue derived from the group's services.
 19. The system of claim 16,wherein: the actual compensation is determined by adjusting the basecompensation according to an actual performance of the group to obtain agroup-adjusted compensation, and adjusting the group-adjustedcompensation according to the actual performance of the individual. 20.The system of claim 16, wherein: the actual compensation is determinedby adjusting the base compensation according to an actual performance ofthe particular individual to obtain an individual-adjusted compensation,and adjusting the individual-adjusted compensation according to theactual performance of the group.
 21. The system of claim 16, wherein:the actual compensation is determined by adjusting the base compensationaccording to an actual performance of the particular individual andadjusting the base compensation according to the actual performance ofthe group.
 22. The system of claim 16, wherein: the service performed bythe individuals comprise employment recruiting, and the actualperformance of the particular individual is measured based on howquickly job candidates are placed in jobs by the particular individual.23. The system of claim 16, wherein: the service performed by theindividuals comprise employment recruiting, and the actual performanceof the particular individual is measured based on compensation of jobsin which job candidates are placed by the particular individual.
 24. Thesystem of claim 16, wherein: the service performed by the individualscomprise employment recruiting, and the actual performance of theparticular individual is measured based on a evaluation of employers atwhich the job candidates are placed by the particular individual, suchthat actual performance of the particular individual is determined to behigher when a candidate is placed at a higher evaluation employer. 25.The system of claim 16, wherein: the group of individuals comprise aplurality of candidate specialists and a plurality of client specialist,each performing a divisible portion of employment recruiting.
 26. Thesystem of claim 25, wherein: the divisible portion of employmentrecruiting comprises obtaining job candidates for employment recruiting;the actual performance of a particular candidate specialist is measuredbased on a number of job candidates placed in jobs by the particularcandidate specialist; and the performance of the group is measured basedon a number of job andidates placed in jobs by the group.
 27. The systemof claim 25, wherein: the divisible portion of employment recruitingcomprises obtaining jobs for employment recruiting; the actualperformance of a particular client specialist is measured based on anumber of job candidates placed in jobs by the particular clientspecialist; and the performance of the group is measured based on anumber of job candidates placed in jobs by the group.
 28. A system forassigning job candidates to recruiters in a group of recruiters,comprising: a storage medium for storing data indicative of evaluationsof the job candidates, and data indicative of evaluations of therecruiters in the group; and a processor, adapted to access the storagemedium, for executing instructions to assign the job candidates to arespective selected one of the recruiters according to a correspondencebetween the job candidate's evaluation and the selected recruiter'sevaluation.
 29. The system of claim 28, wherein: the job candidates areevaluated on a scale that accounts for a degree of placeability.
 30. Thesystem of claim 29, wherein: the placeability accounts for at least oneof: experience, education, time at current company, frequency of jobchanges, and level at current job.
 31. The system of claim 29, wherein:the job candidates are evaluated on a scale that accounts for a degreeof urgency in finding a new job.
 32. The system of claim 28, wherein:the recruiters are evaluated according to their track records in placingjob candidates.
 33. The system of claim 32, wherein: the recruiters areevaluated according to an amount of revenue derived from their servicesin placing job candidates.
 34. The system of claim 32, wherein: therecruiters are evaluated according to how quickly they are able to placejob candidates.
 35. The system of claim 28, wherein: the job candidatesare assignee to a respective one of the recruiters according to acorrespondence between the job candidate evaluation and the recruiterevaluation, such that more highly evaluated job candidates are assignedto more highly evaluated recruiters.
 36. The system of claim 28,wherein: the job candidates are assigned to a respective one of therecruiters according to a correspondence between the job candidateevaluation and the recruiter evaluation, such that job candidates withthe same evaluation are cyclically assigned to recruiters.
 37. Thesystem of claim 28, wherein: the processor is adapted to access thestorage medium and execute instructions to assign the job candidates toanother selected one of the recruiters when the recruiter previouslyselected therefor is unable to place the job candidates within a givetime period.
 38. The system of claim 28, wherein: the processor isadapted to access the storage medium and execute instructions to assignthe job candidate to the recruiter that obtained the job candidate, andassign the job candidate to another selected one of the recruiters whenthe recruiter previously selected therefor is unable to place the jobcandidate within a give time period.
 39. The system of claim 28,wherein: the processor is adapted to access the storage medium andexecute instructions to assign job candidates whose previous assignmentexpired to the recruiter that selects the unassigned job candidates froma group of job candidates.
 40. The system of claim 39, wherein: theprocessor is adapted to access the storage medium and executeinstructions to assign the job candidates to another selected one of therecruiters when the recruiter that previously selected the job candidateis unable to place the job candidate within a give time period.
 41. Asystem for use in employment recruiting, comprising: a storage mediumfor storing data identifying a pool of job candidates, and dataidentifying a pool of available jobs from associated employers; whereinthe pool of available jobs from associated employers is obtainedindependently of the obtaining of the pool of job candidates.
 42. Thesystem of claim 41, further comprising: at least a firstcomputer-implemented user interface for receiving an operator input forstoring the data identifying the pool of job candidates in the storagemedium; and at least a second computer-implemented user interface forreceiving an operator input for storing the data identifying the pool ofavailable jobs in the storage medium.
 43. The system of claim 42,wherein: the interfaces communicate with the storage medium via at leastone network; and at least one of the interfaces is remote from thestorage medium.
 44. The system of claim 42, wherein: the operatorassociated with the first user interface is a candidate specialist ortelemarketer.
 45. The system of claim 42, wherein: the operatorassociated with the second user interface is a client specialist ortelemarketer.
 46. The system of claim 41, wherein the storage mediumstores data indicative of predetermined criteria provided by the jobcandidates and the employers; further comprising: a processor, adaptedto access the storage medium, for executing instructions to match thejob candidates with the available jobs in accordance with the criteria47. The system of claim 46, wherein: the criteria provided by the jobcandidates includes at least one of: a desired position, salary,location, and urgency for a new position.
 48. The system of claim 46,wherein: the criteria provided by the employers includes at least oneof: a desired education, experience, time at current company, frequencyof job changes, and level at the job candidate's current or previousjob.
 49. The system of claim 41, wherein: the storage medium stores dataindicating evaluations of the employers and of respective clientspecialists in a group of client specialists; the processor is adaptedto access the storage medium and execute instructions to assign theavailable jobs of each of the employers to respective ones of the clientspecialists according to a correspondence between their evaluations suchthat more highly evaluated employers are assigned to more highlyevaluated client specialists.
 50. The system of claim 49, wherein: theclient specialists are evaluated according to their track records infilling available jobs.
 51. The system of claim 49, wherein: the clientspecialist are evaluated according to an amount of revenue derived fromtheir services in filling available jobs.
 52. The system of claim 49,wherein: the client specialists are evaluated according to how quicklythey are able to fill available jobs.
 53. The system of claim 49,wherein: the respective employers are evaluated according to an amountof fees they pay to fill their respective available jobs.
 54. The systemof claim 49, wherein: the processor is adapted to access the storagemedium and execute instructions to assign the available jobs of at leasta selected one of the employers to another selected one of the clientspecialists when the client specialist previously selected therefor isunable to fill the available jobs of the selected employer within agiven time period.
 55. The system of claim 41, wherein: the storagemedium stores data indicating evaluations of the job candidates and ofrespective candidate specialists in a group of candid specialists andthe processor is adapted to access the storage medium and executeinstructions to assign the available job candidates to respectiveselected candidate specialists according to a correspondence betweentheir respective evaluations, such that more highly evaluated jobcandidates are assigned to more highly evaluated candidate specialists.56. The system of claim 55, wherein: the candidate specialists areevaluated according to their track records in filling available jobs.57. The system of claim 55, wherein: the candidate specialists areevaluated according to an amount of revenue derived from their servicesin filling available jobs.
 58. The system of claim 55, wherein: thecandidate specialists are evaluated according to how quickly they areable to fill available jobs.
 59. The system of claim 55, wherein: therespective employers are evaluated according to an amount of fees theypay to fill their respective available jobs.
 60. The system of claim 55,wherein: the processor is adapted to access the storage medium andexecute instructions to assign the available job candidates to anotherselected one of the candidate specialists when the candidate specialistpreviously selected therefor is unable to place the candidate within agiven time period.
 61. A system for matching job candidates withavailable jobs, comprising: the storage medium for storing dataregarding a pool of job candidates and a pool of available jobs fromassociated employers, respective computer-implemented interfaces for useby respective candidate specialists to which the job candidates areassigned, and respective client specialists to which the employers areassigned; and a processor, adapted to access the storage medium, forexecuting instructions for use in matching at least a particular one ofthe job candidates in a pool of job candidates to at least a particularone of available jobs in a pool of available jobs from associatedemployers in a cooperative effort between at least one of: (a) thecandidate specialists, (b) the client specialists, and (c) the candidatespecialists and the client specialists.
 62. The system of claim 61,wherein: for the cooperative effort between candidate specialists, acandidate specialist suggests to another candidate specialist to which aparticular job candidate is assigned, via their respective interfaces,particular ones of the available jobs which are believed to be suitablefor the particular job candidate.
 63. The system of claim 61, wherein:for the cooperative effort between client specialists, a clientspecialist suggests to another client specialist to which a particularemployer is assigned, via their respective interfaces, particular onesof the available job candidates which are believed to be suitable forthe respective available jobs of the particular employer.
 64. The systemof claim 61, wherein: for the cooperative effort between the candidatespecialists and the client specialists, a client specialist suggests toa candidate specialist to which a particular job candidate is assigned,via their respective interfaces, particular ones of the available jobswhich are believed to be suitable for the particular job candidate, anda candidate specialist suggests to a client specialist to which aparticular employer is assigned, via their respective interfaces,particular ones of the available job candidates which are believed to besuitable for the respective available jobs of the particular employer.65. A system for matching job candidates with available jobs,comprising: a storage medium for storing data obtained by evaluation thejob candidate, and by evaluation employers with respective availablejobs; and a processor adapted to access the storage medium and executeinstructions to match to the job candidates to the available jobsaccording to a correspondence between the job candidate's evaluation andthe employer's evaluation.
 66. The system of claim 65, wherein: the jobcandidates are evaluated on a scale that accounts for a degree ofplaceability.
 67. The system of claim 66, wherein placeability accountsfor at least one of: experience, education, time at current company,frequency of job changes, and level at current job.
 68. The system ofclaim 65, wherein: the job candidates are evaluated on a scale thataccounts for a degree of urgency in finding a new job.
 69. The system ofclaim 65, wherein: the employers are evaluated on a scale that accountsfor the amount of jobs associated with the particular employer out of atotal number of jobs of the pool of available jobs.
 70. The system ofclaim 65, wherein: the employers are evaluated on a scale that accountsfor the amount of jobs associated with the particular employer out of atotal number of jobs of the pool of available jobs for a predeterminedtime period.
 71. The system of claim 65, wherein: each of the employersis evaluated on a scale that accounts for the amount of revenue providedthereby in a predetermined time period.
 72. A system of matching jobcandidates in a pool of job candidates with available jobs in a pool ofavailable jobs, comprising: a storage medium for storing data obtainedby: (a) evaluation the job candidate at least on one of: (a1) a scalethat accounts for a degree of placeability, and (a2) a scale thataccounts for a degree of urgency in finding a new job, and (b)evaluation employers with respective available jobs by accounting forthe amount of jobs associated with the particular employer out of atotal number of jobs of the pool of available jobs for a predeterminedtime period; a processor adapted to access the storage medium andexecute instructions to assign at least a particular job candidate ofthe pool of job candidates to a particular recruiter in a group ofrecruiters, and to match the job candidates to the available jobsaccording to a correspondence between the job candidate's evaluation andthe employer's evaluation.